Prior Preparation Prevents Poor Performance; Ways to prepare your home for blackouts!

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

I swear, it is impossible to know everything that is happening in our country, much less what is happening around the world, and this makes me thankful for the members of our community who keep me up to date on living conditions that impact us or could impact us.

I am not sure if anyone heard about the major blackout that struck Prince Edward County and the Napanee on Saturday July 23^rd, 2022. Apparently a fire at the Lennox power plant caused the outage. Firefighters arrived at the plant after reports of an explosion and fire, and thankfully no injuries were reported.

The outage originally affected over 30,000 Hydro One customers, but Hydro One was on the ball and they had technicians work to resolve the issue, restoring power to at least 6,000 customers.

Hydro One tweeted, “We have determined that the outage was caused by a fire at one of our stations. The fire has been put out, and crews are working as quickly and safely as possible to assess damage and restore power.”

Reports state that the power was fully restored by 7:00 p.m. that evening.

What that major power outage underscored are the unique costs and challenges of being without power during the hottest days of the year. Power outages can be inconvenient and dangerous if you are not prepared. Yes, it could be an event like a fire, but it has been found that weather-related events cause almost 80% of all power outages, making it by far the most common reason for an outage. Regular weather occurrences, such as snow and ice, hail, lightning, winds, HEAT; humidity and flooding (whether from rain or rising tides) can all cause outages.

Now, it’s hard to predict when or if another blackout will strike, but we thought it would be a good idea to prepare the community in case of such an emergency.

We received some excellent and helpful advice from Michael Lopes, Operations Manager, Reliance Home Comfort for safeguarding your home against an unexpected power outage:

• Disconnect all unnecessary appliances (i.e. toaster ovens, televisions, computers, etc.) in the event of power loss to prevent a surge once hydro is restored.
• Drip faucets to prevent household pipes from freezing or bursting while the electricity is off.
• Home generators can be a lifesaver during a blackout but must be installed and operated with care. Generators should only be connected outside the home to ensure proper ventilation from harmful fumes.
• Stay far away from any downed or damaged power lines. Report any hydro-related issues to your utility company right away.

Power outages are unpredictable and can sometimes drag on for days. Every home should have a fully stocked emergency kit, with 72-hours’ worth of supplies. Here are some key items to include:

• Non-perishable food (don’t forget about your furry friends!) and can opener
• Minimum of 2L of water per day, per family member
• Essential toiletries
• Flashlights and extra batteries
• Toilet paper and garbage bags
• Basic first aid kit

In life, I have always found the five P’s to be helpful in any and all situations: Prior Preparation, Prevents Poor Performance. Something to keep in mind