What to do when you lose power

Your power just went out. What do you do after you contacted the power company?

First: Unplug all of your appliances and leave a light turned on, this prevents a possible power surge from ruining your electronics.

Second: If you own a generator use it safely and never operate it inside. Plug your appliances directly into the generator, do not directly connect your generator to your home.

Third:If you think this will be a prolonged shortage you may want to relocate to a shelter if you feel you can get there safely.

Fourth: Keep your refrigerated foods fresh by limiting the number of times you open the refrigerator. To keep food fresh longer fill the refrigerator with frozen water.

Fifth: In a widespread outage, rely on radio broadcasts to learn more about the power outage.

Sixth: Don't go near any downed power lines - they are extremely dangerous.

Seventh: Stay on top of the latest developments by downloading the ABC11 news and weather apps. (Tip: You can conserve your phone battery's life by turning off unnecessary apps and by dimming your screen's brightness.)