State’s largest electric utility offers safety tips and outage resources for customers ahead of
(Atlanta) – As the East Coast prepares for the arrival of Hurricane Florence in the coming days, Georgia Power is actively monitoring the storm and coordinating with emergency partners, including GEMA and the Mutual Assistance Network.
The utility, which provides electrical service to customers in all but four of Georgia’s 159 counties, says it will not release crews to other states to assist in Florence restoration until it is certain that Georgia will not be impacted.
Last year, Hurricane Irma broke or damaged approximately 1,500 power poles, and more than 2,400 trees brought down nearly 230 miles of wire across the the state. Customers went days without power.
While it’s still too early to tell exactly what impact Hurricane Florence will have on Georgia, there are things you can do now to help you weather the storm.
Safety tips
Before a Storm: Stay aware and check the weather forecast before heading outdoors. Turn off air conditioners as power surges can overload them and charge cell phones in case you lose power.
During a Storm: Take safe shelter inside a sturdy building away from windows and doors. Avoid contact with conductors of electricity – appliances, metal objects and water.
After a Storm: Never touch any downed or low-hanging wire, including telephone or TV wires that touch a power line. Never pull tree limbs off of power lines yourself or enter areas with debris or downed trees as downed power lines may be buried in wreckage.
Online tools
If you’re a Georgia Power customer, there are a number of tools and resources available to help you stay informed in severe weather events.
- Outage Alerts – Subscribe to the free Georgia Power Outage Alert service to receive personalized notifications and updates via text message.
- Outage & Storm Center – Available at www.georgiapower.com/storm, customers can visit this site to sign up for Outage Alerts, report and check the status of outages, and access useful safety tips and information. Customers can report and check the status of an outage 24 hours a day by contacting Georgia Power at 888-891-0938.
- Outage Map – Housed within the Outage & Storm Center, Georgia Power’s interactive Outage Map provides near real-time information, allowing users to see where outages are occurring across the state and track estimated restoration times.
- Georgia Power Mobile App – Download the Georgia Power mobile app for Apple and Android devices to access storm and outage information on the go.
- @GeorgiaPower on Twitter – Follow @GeorgiaPower on Twitter for storm tips, outage updates, customer service and more.
- Emergency Plan and Kit – Visit the Georgia Power storm page for information on how to build a family emergency plan and emergency supply kit.
