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 Coping with
a Power Outage
Through all types of stormy weather, your Benton Utilities electric
department strives to keep the power on for every customer in its service
area. But sometimes unexpected conditions will cause our customers to
temporarily lose power. When storms or other circumstances cause an
outage, you can rest assured that the electric department will take
immediate action to restore service. Although the department works as
quickly as possible to get the power back on, there are some steps you can
take before, during an outage to make it easier to cope.
- LIGHT: Always have alternate sources of light on hand. It could be
a flashlight with extra batteries, candles, kerosene or oil lamps.
Keep your alternate light source in an established place where it can
be found easily in an outage situation.
- INFORMATION: Have a battery-powered radio available. The radio
will bring you weather reports, local news bulletins and other
important emergency information.
- FOOD: Stock emergency food and related items along with a manual
can opener. Keep your refrigerator/freezer doors closed as much as
possible to reduce the chance of food spoilage.
- HEAT SOURCES IN WINTER: When the power goes out, so do most
heating systems. If you have a fireplace or wood-burning stove, make
sure you keep plenty of wood during the winter.
- PROTECT YOUR APPLIANCES: Turn off all large appliances that come
on automatically and disconnect sensitive equipment such as VCRs, DVD
players, stereos, computers and televisions to avoid damage from
lightning or a power surge. If all of these appliances were to come
back on at once, they might overload your home's electric circuits.
Leave a single lamp turned on to let you know when your electric
service has been restored.
- PLAY IT SAFE: Never touch downed power lines or anything
contacting power lines. Although you may see lines that are down, they
could still be energized. Never attempt to move trees from power
lines. Let qualified servicemen from your electric utility handle the
clearing and repair work.
- CONFIRM THE OUTAGE: First check lights and appliances in other
rooms. If you still have power in some areas, most likely a fuse has
blown or a circuit breaker has been tripped. If all lights are off,
check to see if your neighbor's lights are also off. This will help us
determine the extent of the outage.
- CALL THE BENTON UTILITIES ELECTRIC DEPT: Report the outage. Phone
numbers are available on this Web site.
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