Storm season officially hit this month with ice storms, flooding, and the falling tree limbs and high winds that come with the territory. Every time the power goes out, due to Nature’s heavy hand, power customers everywhere begin to worry.
Power companies are working to get your power back on.
It’s their goal to keep your power on at all times. But when ice, snow, wind, and floods happen, all they can do is send in the cavalry. And by cavalry, we mean linemen. These workers are the few, the trained, the brave. The only ones capable of restoring your power in a blackout.
Linemen risk everything to restore your power.
Winter storms bring the most difficulty, safety hazards and danger. Ice makes things slick. Wind whips things away. Snow can be blinding in the sunlight. Not only are the crews dealing with the elements, they also have to travel great distances to get to the site of the problem. Leaving their families behind, they are forced to deal with the public. And those without power can be cruel and unthinking in their treatment of these first responders.
It’s not a simple flick of a switch.
Trees loaded with ice and snow often take the same power lines out again and again. A repair during a winter storm may only last until the next ice-loaded branch takes it out again. This means linemen might be called out multiple times to the same location. Each time, the repair might take longer and become more dangerous. Often, a line is repaired only to be hit with back-to-back storms and require additional repair.
Call your power company once.
It’s only natural – electricity supplies light for all and heat for most. It can be a dangerous time. But we’d like to point out some things that may not be obvious to the average energy consumer. First of all, call your power company as soon as the power is off – then let them do their work.
What you can do to help.
The best thing customers can do in these situations is to be ready for outages in the winter. Stock up on batteries, gas for your generator, canned goods, firewood and blankets. Be mentally prepared to have the power out for an extended period of time, and most of all – don’t panic. Stay off the roads. And remember that these men and women are doing all they can.