Be warm! When the snow comes and the temperatures drop, furnaces work longer, and people are likely to be at home more.
- Watch your usage using Benton PUD’s SmartHub. Encourage family members to help lower usage by taking shorter showers. Only run full loads in the dishwasher and clothes washer.
- Turn off lights, TVs, and other electronics when not using them. Unplug chargers and other electronics when not in use.
- Don’t turn up the heat just because you are cold from the outside. If you lowered the temperature on your thermostat while you were gone, turn it back to the temperature you normally keep it and not higher. The house will warm up at the same speed.
- Turn ventilating fans off as soon as they have done the job. Fans pull warm air out of the house.
Be safe!
- Keep flashlights ready and easy to find.
- Keep blankets and other flammable materials away from lit candles, and never fall asleep with a candle still burning.
- Keep space heaters at least three feet away from bedding, clothing, drapes, and other materials.
- Never use barbeques or generators indoors (including garages) as they produce toxic fumes that can be deadly. Do not use gas ovens for heat as they also can produce toxic fumes.
- If there is an outage, turn off appliances and electronics that were on. This can prevent fires and will help as crews get the power restored.
- Stay away from all downed power lines – even if there are no sparks.
- If you use a portable generator, make sure it’s connected correctly through an approved transfer switch that is isolated from the utilities system. Never plug the generator into a wall outlet. This can cause “backfeeding” which is very dangerous to utility linemen working on the outage. Operate it in a dry, open area.
If there is an outage, call Benton PUD’s outage line 1-888-582-2176 or use SmartHub (not 911) to help expedite service. Our crews are ready 24/7.