Be Prepared During an Outage

The average Idaho Power customer is without power less than two hours during an entire year. Storm-or-accident-caused power outages normally last only a few minutes.


It’s still important to know how to protect your health and home if electricity is suddenly unavailable for a long time. There are several things you can do to stay sage and comfortable. One is to have an outage kit in your house. It should include the following:

Matches
Candles
A flashlight
Extra blankets
A battery-powered radio
Batteries
Bottled water
Canned and dried foods
A manual can opener
A wind-up clock or battery-powered clock
A telephone that does not depend on electricity


Also don’t leave candles unattended and keep them away from furniture, draperies and other flammable materials. Be sure to turn off electric ranges or space heaters (in winter) during a power outage to prevent the possibility of a fire if you are away when power is restored. You should also avoid opening refrigerator and freezer doors to keep cold air inside and prevent food from spoiling.
You can also help avoid delays getting power restored. Turn off all appliances, machinery and equipment in use when the power goes out, (including the durance/air conditioner) except for one light. When this light comes on, it will be your signal that power has been restored. Also, once power has been restored, wait 30 minutes and begin turning home appliances and lighting back on in 10-minute intervals. These precautions help circuits from overloading when power is restored, allowing larger sections of power lines to be energized and resulting in faster and less complicated power restoration.

To report an outage or get outage information, you can call Idaho Power at 208-388-2323 or 1-800-488-6150