The extreme conditions expected to accompany Hurricane Florence, including dangerous storm surge, inland flooding and high winds, could create hazardous situations and prolonged power outages.
North Carolina’s electric cooperative officials stress the following key safety tips in English and Spanish to help prevent unnecessary and life-threatening accidents.
English | Spanish |
If you’re without electricity and want to use a portable generator, make sure you use it in a well-ventilated area. Don’t connect the generator to your home’s electrical panel or fuse boxes. It may cause electricity to feed back into the power lines, which can endanger linemen and damage electric service facilities. | Si no tiene electricidad y desea usar un generador portátil, úselo en un área bien ventilada. No conecte el generador al panel eléctrico o a la caja de fusibles de su casa. Esto puede hacer que la electricidad fluya hacia los cables de alta tensión, lo cual puede poner en peligro a los trabajadores y dañar las instalaciones de la cooperativa de electricidad. |
If your power is out following a storm and you must cook food with Sterno or charcoal, remember to do so outside in a well-ventilated area. Cooking indoors with Sterno or charcoal will produce deadly carbon-monoxide fumes. | Si no tiene electricidad después de una tormenta y debe cocinar alimentos con combustible Sterno® o carbón, recuerde hacerlo afuera en un área bien ventilada. Cocinar dentro de la casa con Sterno® o carbón produce vapors mortales de monóxido de carbono. |
Remember, following a storm, debris can cover power lines that have fallen and even standing near downed lines can be dangerous. | Recuerde, después de una tormenta puede haber escombros sobre los cables de alta tensión caídos y hasta pararse cerca de tales cables puede ser peligroso. |
Watch this video for more generator safety tips:
Electric cooperative members are encouraged to charge their cell phones and keep their co-op’s outage reporting number accessible. Real-time outage numbers from electric cooperatives across the state are available on a Statewide Outage Map.
North Carolina’s 26 electric cooperatives collectively serve approximately 2.5 million people in 93 of the state’s 100 counties. For more information, visit ncelectriccooperatives.com.