News

The local power grid held steady while Mother Nature dumped a few feet of snow throughout Chelan County on Jan. 6. The lights stayed on for nearly all of Chelan PUD’s 50,000 customers. That may change if warmer temperatures and freezing rain break trees and damage power lines later this week.

Now’s the time to get prepared and ensure your family’s safety if the lights go out. Here are a few tips on how to get ready:

• Charge all cell phones, reusable batteries, laptops and other devices.
• Gather extra water, non-perishable food, flashlights and other emergency supplies.
• Prepare an alternative plan for power-dependent medical devices and medicines that require refrigeration. Sign up for Chelan PUD’s Medical Electrical Needs Registry.

DO NOT go near, touch or try to move any lines on the ground, or trees tangled in them. Stay far away and call 911.

If the power goes out:

• Call us 24/7 at 877-783-8123 to report the outage and get updates. You can also find updates at chelanpud.org/outages, and on Chelan PUD’s Facebook and Twitter pages.
• Turn off all but one light – on the porch or inside where it can be seen from the street – so you and PUD crews know when power is restored.
• Keep freezers and refrigerators cold. Here’s a food safety guide if the power is out more than four hours.
• Never use fuel-burning devices, like gasoline-powered generators, gasoline-powered pressure washers, camp stoves and lanterns, or charcoal grills inside, or in any confined space, or within 10 feet of windows, doors or other air intakes. Using these items in your home can produce carbon monoxide, which can be deadly.
• Wait 10 minutes after power is restored before turning on the heat to ease the load on the system.
• If you plan to use a portable generator, make sure you plug appliances directly into the generator. Or, make sure your home is disconnected from the PUD’s electric system with a transfer switch installed by a licensed electrician. Here's a generator safety guide.

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