Equipment failure, storms, wildlife and public damage could cause a power outage at any time. Gilbert McFadden, line technician instructor at TCC South, has developed a series of tips to help keep Texans safe, further underscoring the College’s commitment to serving the community.
- Awareness
- Be aware of weather conditions – watch the sky for dangerous signs.
- Visually inspect electric lines for intruding elements such as trees or for wires hanging down. DO NOT TOUCH FALLEN WIRES.
- If your service is off or you see fallen wires, please call your provider.
- Be prepared
- Have necessary items on hand for survival mode such as:
- LED flash lights with fresh/good batteries – LED bulbs use less battery power.
- Blankets available – especially in cold weather.
- Food you can eat without cooking it including fruits and dried items like beef jerky.
- Bottled water and drinks.
- Make sure your pets are safe – they need to be protected as well.
- Keep a weather radio that uses batteries – your television will be off. Some hand crank models will charge the cell phone.
- Actions to avoid
- Do not open the freezer or refrigerator doors – they will retain cold air for a long time if unopened.
- Do not turn on switches or appliances to see if they work. In fact, turn off any burners, lights, fans and heaters being used when power is lost.
- Do not turn the thermostat up or down – turn it off until power is restored.
- After the storm passes or the power is restored
- Do a careful visual check for fallen lines, trees down or house damage. AGAIN – DO NOT TOUCH FALLEN LINES. Wires on the ground could be energized.
- Report any damage of any kind to the proper authorities.
- Check your house system for proper operation after power is restored.
- If your neighbors’ power is on and yours is still off, call your provider again. It’s possible your service or transformer may be damaged while the neighbors’ was not.
- Know a phone number for an electrician prior to having outages.
- Conditions that cause outages
- Lightning and rain
- Wind
- Tornadoes
- Hurricanes
- Heat in the summer – overload
- Ice and cold in the winter – overload
- Overgrown trees in customer right-of-way (easement)
- Vehicles hitting utility poles or pad mount (on the ground) transformers
- Customer equipment failure
For more information about the Electrical Line Technician program at Tarrant County College South, visit http://catalog.tccd.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=4&poid=881.