Tips To Help You Prepare For A Planned Outage

A lightbulb cracks as water is poured over it forming a pool below it.

To help you prepare for a planned outage, here are a few suggested steps that you may choose to take to make the outage time less inconvenient and safe.

Tips For Power Outage

1. Have flashlights with fresh batteries handy.

2. Keep your freezer and refrigerator door closed as much as possible. Its contents can be kept cold/frozen for many hours without electricity.

3. Log off of your computer at least a half hour before the electrical outage to avoid losing any stored data. It is recommended you unplug electronics during the outage. It is also recommended that surge protectors should be included with normal operation of electronics in your home or business.

4. Make sure your cell phone is charged. Remember that if you have a cordless land line phone, it may not ring for an incoming call during an electrical outage.

5. Ensure that the following appliances are not in operation prior to the outage: stove, oven, clothes dryer, dishwasher, space heaters, iron, washing machine and any other electrical appliance other than the freezer, refrigerator. This will help PL&WCo get the system back up more quickly.

6. Turn your furnace thermostat down until the electricity has been restored and try to wait 15 minutes or so before turning the thermostat back to normal levels. This also helps reduce cold load pickup when the system is
re-energized.

7. If you have medical support equipment that is dependent on electricity, be ready to implement your back-up plan to maintain the use of the equipment as you would during an unscheduled electric outage such as may occur during a wind storm.

8. If you have a generator, do not try to energize your house through wall sockets. This can only be accomplished safely with properly installed equipment by a licensed electrician.

9. NEVER try to heat your home or cook indoors using any gas, propane, charcoal, or kerosene items without proper ventilation.

10. Do not use candles to light your home and do not use lanterns unless the room is well ventilated. Please supervise children at all times around any device used to provide heat or light.

11. On the day of the outage, plan to go visit a friend or relative, take the family out for the day, use creative ideas to make an adventure out of the outage for children.

Tips For Water Outage

1. Use water from your emergency supply of bottled water. Plan for a minimum of two-week supply of 1 gallon a day per person. Once the outage is over, remember to replenish your stock!

2. If you have a toilet with a tank, fill your bathtub with water prior to the outage, and use a 2-quart pitcher to re-fill the toilet tank after each flush.

3. Try to use the least amount of water necessary so that you don’t drain your house plumbing.

4. Once water has been restored, to prevent sediment from entering your water heater, SLOWLY turn on each cold-water faucet individually to flush out any air or dirt sediment that may have been stirred up during the outage.

Most of all be safe, patient and know that Parkland Light & Water Company is taking every measure possible to restore your services as quickly and safely as possible whether the outage is scheduled or unscheduled. We understand the inconvenience that the interruption of service has to business operators and private residences alike, and we do our best to keep them as brief as possible. Please don’t hesitate to call the office if you have any questions or concerns regarding outages.