The Top 10 Electrical Safety Tips to Practice Year-round

RISMEDIA, Jan. 24, 2008-With 2008 in full swing, people are planning to make this year better than the last. One resolution that all companies should make year after year is make safety top priority.

As part of its year-long safety awareness campaign, Lifetime of Safety, Oncor wants consumers to remember these “Top Ten” important safety tips in 2008:

1. Stay away from downed power lines. Treat all fallen lines as if they are energized and deadly. Call 9-1-1 to report the situation and keep other people and pets away.

2. Leave tree trimming to the professionals. Every year, people are injured or even killed when they climb or prune trees near power lines. Tree limbs in-contact with power lines can act as conductors. A person can be seriously injured if contact is made.

3. Observe all warning signs. Teach children not to play near electric equipment or to enter areas marked “Danger,” “High Voltage” or “Keep Out.”

4. Don’t run extension cords under rugs, carpets or furniture. Extension cords can cause fires if overheated.

5. Replace light bulbs with bulbs of equal or lesser wattage. Follow the manufacturer’s warnings for appropriate wattage to avoid overheating.

6. Call 1-800-DIG-TESS before digging 16 inches or deeper. State law requires the call to help prevent coming into contact with underground electric and gas lines.

7. Don’t overload outlets and extension cords. Overloading, or plugging in too many appliances, can cause fires.

8. Turn off lamps whenever a room will remain unoccupied for an extended period of time. Not only does this conserve energy, but lamps might overheat, causing a fire that no one would be present to notice.

9. Protect appliances from voltage surges or drops-plug them into surge protectors. Surge protectors should bear the seal of a nationally recognized certification agency.

10. Make sure electrical appliances are not placed where they might get wet. Water can damage electrical parts and cause them to become grounded, posing a risk for electric shock hazards or overheating.

For more information, visit www.oncor.com/safety.

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