The month of June officially kicked off the summer season, but it also marks the beginning of a potentially dangerous time—hurricane season. North Carolina sits on the Atlantic coast, and hurricanes often bring flooding, power loss, and wind-damage to this area, as well as areas inland. Follow these tips to brush up on what to do before, during and after a storm to keep you safe and minimize damage to your home:
Before a Hurricane:
During a Hurricane:
After a Hurricane:
Important Information to Remember:
Preparing for hurricane season will help you stay safe, potentially saving lives and money. You cannot prevent hurricanes, but you can minimize damage to your home and injury to your family by gathering supplies, preparing your home and planning for a possible storm before the hurricane season starts.
Here at Lumbee River EMC, it is our priority to work as safely and quickly as possible to restore your power!
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Preventing Electrocutions Associated with Portable Generators Plugged Into Household Circuits
When power lines are down, residents can restore energy to their homes or other structures by using another power source such as a portable generator. But if used improperly it can kill you and the people who are restoring power to your building. A generator also can damage the appliances you connect.
Home emergency generators are usually powered by gasoline, which itself is dangerous and must be properly handled outdoors.
Generator sizes vary. Units capable of handling from 3,000 to 6,000 watts (including starting surge requirements) can power multiple “survival” appliances such as a refrigerator, sump pump, and furnace fan. Units putting out 7,000 to 9,000 watts can power a few rooms (not including a central air conditioner). The bigger generators for 10,000 watts or more can power a small house.
Before connecting the generator to your household circuit, notify your electric cooperative.
WARNING:
If you connect a portable electric generator to the main electrical supply coming into the house, the electrical generator could feed back into your electric cooperative’s system and electrocute workers who are repairing the electrical lines.
To avoid the back-feeding of electricity into utility systems, you must have a qualified, licensed electrician install a double-pole, double-throw transfer switch (see illustration) between the generator and utility power in compliance with all state and local electrical codes. (A minimum of 10-gauge wiring must be used.)
Your generator might not be large enough to handle a load of all the lights, appliances, TV, etc., at one time. To prevent dangerous overloading, refer to the owner’s manual and calculate wattage requirements correctly.
Use the right size generator
To determine the size you’ll need, make a list of appliances you want to run in the event of an outage. Find both starting and running wattage requirements on appliance nameplates or in the owner’s manuals; then add them up to determine the total wattage. Although the starting wattage will last for only a few seconds, the generator must be able to meet it to run safely. Once you have a total, scale the generator up a size or two to ensure safe, efficient operation.
Sources: North Carolina Association of Electric Cooperatives; National Rural Electric Cooperative Association
Accidentally contacting a power line can be dangerous and in some cases, even deadly. Your Touchstone Energy cooperative wants to help our members stay safe around power lines. KEEP A SAFE DISTANCE Whether you are playing outdoors with your children or working on landscaping projects, keep a safe distance from power lines and other equipment your co-op uses to get electricity to your home. Always remember to:
If a power line falls on a car, you should stay inside the vehicle. This is the safest place to stay. Warn people not to touch the car or the line. Call or ask someone to call the local cooperative and emergency services. The only circumstance in which you should consider leaving a car that is in contact with a downed power line is if the vehicle catches on fire. Open the door. Do not step out of the car. You may receive a shock. Instead, jump free of the car so that your body clears the vehicle before touching the ground. Once you clear the car, shuffle at least 50 feet away, with both feet on the ground. As in all power line related emergencies, call for help immediately by dialing 911 or call your electric utility company’s Service Center/Dispatch Office. Do not try to help someone else from the car while you are standing on the ground.