SAFETY TIPS: What You Need To Know To Prepare For The Winter Storm

As you prepare for the winter weather headed to Oklahoma, our friends at OG&E have put together some helpful tips to make sure you are ready.

BEFORE THE STORM HITS 

Be Prepared

It pays to be prepared for a storm because you never know when one is going to hit. We suggest keeping the following items accessible for use until we can get your power back up:

• Flashlights and fresh batteries, candles or other illumination

• Battery-powered radio and/or television (for news updates)

• Battery-powered or wind-up clock

• Emergency telephone numbers

• Corded telephone

Related Link 12/4/2013: Winter Preps For Your Car And Home

Given specific circumstances, outages often raise dangers you don't expect. Please study the following suggestions to prepare for the worst:

Safety Tips

• Stay away from power lines. These bare wires could be live.

• If a person or object is in contact with a power line, don't touch the person, object or line as the electric current could flow through you. Call 911 instead.

• If your vehicle is in contact with a power line, stay inside the car. Warn others not to touch the car or the power line.

• If you must leave your vehicle, jump clear to avoid being in contact with the car and the ground at the same time.

Winter Outages

• During the day, open your blinds to let the sun warm the space.

• At night, cover windows with drapes or blankets to minimize heat loss.

• Place heaters on a hard, non-combustible surface.

• If the indoor temperature drops to 55 degrees F, open faucets slightly so they drip to prevent pipes from freezing.

• Never use a gas range or charcoal for indoor heating.

Generator Safety

• Follow manufacturer's instructions for proper use of a portable generator.

• Operate the generator outdoors to avoid deadly fumes.

• Plug appliances directly into the portable generator or have it properly attached to your home's wiring by a qualified electrician.

• Never connect a portable generator to your home's main electrical panel or plug it into an electrical outlet.

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HEADS UP FOR HOME SAFETY

The following valuable tips will help you keep your home and family safe around the potential dangers of electricity:

• Stay away from power lines and anything they are touching. They are bare wires and not insulated. Downed power lines may appear to be harmless but could be live.

• Be sure your generator is properly installed by a licensed electrician to prevent it from back feeding into our system, endangering linemen, and potentially causing a fire.

• Stay away from transformers. If locks are missing or broken, notify OG&E immediately.

• Leave 1 ½ foot clearance around a transformer if landscaping.

• Don't overload outlets.

• Stay away from substations. If something like a ball goes over the fence, call OG&E for assistance.

• Water and electricity don't mix.

• Look up before you climb and down before you dig. Power lines are located overhead and underground.