As your local electric cooperative, we are committed to safety, ensuring the well-being of our employees, members and community. Electricity powers our daily lives, making countless things possible, but it must be used with caution. Every Piedmont Electric Cooperative team member is dedicated to maintaining the highest safety standards. Follow these guidelines to help keep yourself, your friends and your family safe.
Safety Outdoors: Power Line Safety
Whether you’re enjoying outdoor time with your family or working on landscaping projects, always stay mindful of power lines and electrical equipment that help deliver electricity to your home. To ensure your safety, follow these important guidelines:
- Maintain a Safe Distance: Stay clear of power lines, meters, transformers and electrical boxes.
- Avoid Climbing Near Power Lines: Never climb trees that are close to power lines.
- Fly with Caution: Keep kites, remote-controlled planes, drones and balloons far away from power lines.
- If an Object Gets Stuck in a Power Line: Do not attempt to retrieve it—call Piedmont Electric immediately for assistance.
- Use Ladders Safely: Maintain a safe distance from overhead power lines when using ladders or installing items like antennas.
- Stay Away from Downed Power Lines: Never touch or approach a fallen power line.
- Avoid Contact with Objects Touching Power Lines: Do not touch vehicles, fences or anything else that may be in contact with a downed wire.
- Protect Children and Pets: Keep them away from all electrical hazards.
Safety Outdoors: Call Before You Dig (811)
With underground power lines becoming more common in today’s electrical systems, it’s important to stay vigilant—even when you can’t see the lines.
Digging without knowing what’s below can lead to serious consequences. Striking an underground wire could cause a power outage, severe electrical shock or even death. In addition to electric lines, many other utilities also bury their lines including water, internet, gas and telephone.
Always dial 811 at least three days before any digging project and let them know what kind of project you are working on. Utility companies who have potential facilities around your dig site will be notified about your intent to dig. Each affected utility company will send a locator to mark the approximate location of your underground utility lines within 2-3 working days.
Safety Outdoors: Landscaping Reminders
Many people prefer underground electric lines in their neighborhoods, which rely on pad-mounted transformers placed in easements. These transformers distribute power to multiple homes, with underground lines extending in various directions.
Here are guidelines to remember when you plant near transformers:
- Always Call North Carolina One-Call Center: call 800.632.4949 before you dig anywhere in your yard. North Carolina One-Call will notify underground utility services for you.
- Maintain a 10-Foot Clearance in Front: Linemen need space to safely work on energized transformers without disrupting service.
- Keep 3 Feet Clear on the Sides & Back: Transformers generate heat and require airflow to prevent overheating and outages.
- Choose Low-Growing Plants: Grass, gravel, wood chips or flowers are best—just remember, crews may need access for maintenance.
Inside Safety: Outlets
If a plug doesn’t fit securely into an outlet, it could indicate a dangerous issue that needs attention. Loose or faulty connections can lead to overheating, increasing the risk of fire.
- Check for Proper Fit: If an outlet feels loose, have it repaired to prevent potential hazards.
- Inspections Outlets and Electrical Cords: If outlets or switches feel warm and you’re having problems with blowing fuses, tripped circuits or flickering lights – please call a professional to fix the problem. Always inspect electrical cords and replace them if damaged or loose.
- Install Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCI) : Use on outlets near water sources, such as in kitchens, bathrooms and outdoor areas. This can be done with a GFCI outlet or a GFCI breaker.
- Protect Children: Use outlet safety covers to prevent accidental insertion of objects and replace any cracked outlet covers to keep electrical connections secure.
- Don’t run electrical cords under rugs: Running electrical cords under rugs is a fire hazard because the cords can overheat due to restricted airflow.
Inside Safety: Surge Protection
In today’s world of computers, circuit boards and other sensitive devices, surge protection is essential. Power surges, whether from inside your home or external sources, can damage or destroy delicate equipment.
Power Strips vs. Surge Protectors:
- Regular power strips do not provide surge protection. Use a surge suppressor, which looks similar but is designed to react instantly and absorb high-voltage surges.
Investing in the right protection helps safeguard your valuable electronics from unexpected power fluctuations.
Inside Safety: Flickering Lights
Frequent flickering lights, blown fuses or tripped breakers indicate potential electrical problems.
If these issues occur regularly, have a qualified electrician inspect your electrical system. A professional can identify trouble spots early and help prevent serious hazards, such as a house fire.
Generator Safety Tips
Follow all safety instructions below to ensure you properly protect yourself and your family during a storm.
- Only a qualified professional should install a generator.
- Only run generators outside and avoid enclosed areas. Exhaust from generators contains carbon monoxide. Install carbon monoxide detectors in your home as a precaution.
- Never add fuel when a generator is on or hot.
- Do not connect a generator to your home’s wiring. A generator that is directly connected can feed back to other power lines in your area and injure neighbors or lineworkers.
- Do not overload the generator with appliances. Use only when necessary and only power the essentials.
- Do not operate your generator in wet conditions and protect your generator from natural elements.
Outage Safety Tips
In the event of a power outage, it’s important to prepare and protect you and your family until the electricity comes back on so you can get back to your normal routine. Follow these tips to prepare your home for when things get dark.
- Keep one light on to see when the power comes back on. Keep the remainder off.
- Turn off all unnecessary appliances and make sure your electric kitchen range is off.
- Turn on your porch lights so our crews know when the power is back on in your neighborhood.
- If an outage lasts more than an hour, turn off your electric water heater.
- Avoid opening a freezer door. A full-standing freezer will keep food temperatures preserved for up to two days.
- If an outage happens during colder weather, close all windows and drapes to keep the heat inside your home.
- If you see a downed power line outside, stay away and contact Piedmont Electric immediately at 800.222.3107 via call or text or through SmartHub.
- Once the power comes back on, slowly turn on all appliances to avoid overload on your electrical system.
- For more information about outage safety, click here.