Jul 16, 2019 | Energy Efficiency
The dog days of summer are here, and the temperatures are sizzling. ☀️ No sweat … we’re here with tips to help you beat the heat.
You can save energy and money, even in extreme heat, with our energy efficiency tips:
- Make sure your drapes and shades are pulled down during the day to block the hot sun.
- Wear light clothing and set your thermostat between 72 and 78 degrees. You’ll save energy for every degree higher you can set your thermostat.
- Try not to use large appliances like dishwashers, stoves, washers and dryers during the warmest hours of the day. Incandescent light bulbs also produce heat, so switching to cooler and more efficient LED bulbs is a smart choice.
- Ceiling fans cost far less to use than air conditioners, but only turn them on in rooms that are occupied.
The National Weather Service reports about 175 Americans die from extreme heat in a normal year. Older adults, children and sick individuals are at greater risk from extreme heat.
Here are some tips to stay safe during the hottest days:
- Find a cool place with air conditioning and check on your at-risk family members or neighbors.
- Drink plenty of cool, non-alcoholic beverages.
- Never leave people or pets in a closed car.
- Avoid strenuous activity.
- If you are outside, find shade and wear a hat big enough to protect your face.
Jul 8, 2018 | Safety and Security
This tip appears in the July 2018 issue of Connect, our customer newsletter. We’re reprinting it here because it’s good safety advice.
Q. My buddy is a do-it-yourselfer and never bothers to turn off the circuit breakers when he’s working on an electrical outlet. How can I explain to him how dangerous this is?
A. Consider that a very small amount of electricity — less than 50 milliamps — can be enough to stop someone’s heart. A 15-amp circuit breaker in his house won’t trip and stop the flow of electricity until 300 times that amount, or 15,000 milliamps, is traveling through his body. Tell your friend to shut off the breaker, and test the outlet, before doing any work. It could be a life-saver.
Have a question for our energy expert? Email us at connect@pplweb.com.
Jun 1, 2018 | Safety and Security
Shown above: The Bloomsburg Fair following Hurricane Agnes, June 1972.
Hurricane season starts June 1 and continues into the fall. And while we might think of the warm tropics when we think of hurricanes, experience shows these storms can have a big, destructive impact here in Pennsylvania.
Here are six tips to help you ride out any storm:
1: Prepare an emergency kit. Or, if you made a kit years ago and haven’t checked it since, there’s no better time to update it. Kits should include bottled water; first-aid supplies; non-perishable food, pet supplies, and more. Visit our website for more info.
2: Make medical arrangements. If you rely on powered medical equipment, you should have a battery backup, a generator, or a firm plan of where you’d go for help in case of a sustained power outage.
3: Set your PPL Alerts. In the event of an outage, our alerts will keep you posted on estimated restoration times as they become available. You can get the info by phone, email, text, or any combination. Visit pplelectric.com/alerts to customize your alert preferences.
4. Be aware of the weather. Regularly check weather information so you’re aware of what’s in the forecast.
5. Have flashlights ready. Candles aren’t a great choice during outages because they create a fire risk. We recommend having a few flashlights on hand – and some spare batteries for them.
6. Do it now. This might be the most important tip of all. Take steps to prepare now, while the weather is clear. When a big storm is moving in, you’ll be thankful you did.
Dec 2, 2017 | Safety and Security
Thinking about promoting your yard sale, band concert, or campaign for township supervisor by posting signs on utility poles?
Please don’t.
Posting signs or posters on utility poles is unsafe and, in many cases, illegal. Our line workers can be injured if their
climbing hooks strike a nail, tack or staple that has been hammered into a pole. The fasteners also could tear the rubber equipment our workers wear to protect against electrical shock.
Section 6905 of the Pennsylvania Crimes Code makes it a summary offense to drive a nail or tack into a utility pole. (Don’t believe us? You can read it here.)
Even if the posters are affixed with tape or string, they can still cause problems. The signs can hide identifying markers on poles, slowing our efforts to locate the source of trouble in the event of a power outage.
In addition, many communities have laws prohibiting the posting of signs or posters on poles by any means. (Some communities are cracking down on these postings, as seen in this WBRE/WYOU news story from November 2017.)
We know our poles appear to be a high-visibility place to post messages. But when you do that, you’re putting our workers at risk, and most likely breaking the law. So, again, please don’t.
Our line workers thank you.
Oct 26, 2017 | Safety and Security
At Halloween, we love to see princesses, vampires and superheroes ring the bell. But if fake utility workers come to your house, we want you to shut the door.
Utility impostors are an evergreen-type scam that shows up now and again. Here’s how it works:
- Someone will come to the door claiming to represent PPL or a PPL contractor. (They may also pose as a utility worker from the cable, water, or phone company.)
- They’ll ask the customer to come outside to look at work that needs to be done.
- Another scammer will enter the house and take money or valuables while the customer is outside and distracted in conversation.
It’s fairly rare that we will ask customers to come look at work that needs to be done. And the employees and contractors who might do this – such as meter technicians – often work alone, not in pairs. But it’s possible that a legitimate PPL representative might invite a customer outside to look at work or equipment.
How can you slam the door on scammers? Here are a few suggestions.
- If you choose to come outside with any person – PPL or otherwise – it’s a good idea to close and lock all doors so no one can enter your home while you’re out. A legitimate PPL employee or contractor will wait while you do this. (Don’t forget to bring a key with you, of course.)
- Any PPL employee or contractor will provide ID on request.
- You can also call us at 1-800-DIAL-PPL (342-5775) to confirm that we have employees or contractors working in your area. (Have the person at your door tell you what company they represent and give you a clear description of the work they are there to do. This will help us verify.)
- If you contact PPL, and you are still not completely sure of the identity of the people at your door, dial 911 to have law enforcement respond for assistance.
This scam sometimes targets elderly customers or those who live alone. If you have a friend or family member who fits that description, please share this information with them.
Together, we’ll make “utility impostor” a costume that doesn’t pay off.
