SCE and National Preparedness Month
In case you haven’t heard, September is national preparedness month! Southern California Edison is bringing residents all of the necessary resources to prepare for any emergencies. An emergency can happen at any time. You can help your family be prepared for any emergency situation with a safety preparedness plan, some basic supplies, and advance planning. Whether a storm, an earthquake, a wildfire, or a flood comes our way, preparedness will help everyone cope better and stay safer.
Supply Kit: What You Need
Keep basic necessities on hand — from medical prescriptions to canned goods. It’s the first step in being ready for an emergency. Keep a supply of essentials in an easily-accessible location, so you’ll be able to get to them quickly, even in the dark. Click here to learn what you need!
Be Prepared for Power Outages
When power outages occur, it’s always good to be prepared. Whether it's a maintenance outage or an outage from an unexpected storm, here are some tips to help you prepare and lessen the impact until the lights come back on. Preparing for an outage is easier than you think. Stocking up on a few supplies and planning ahead can help you stay safe and comfortable.
Prepare Your Business
SCE works hard to prevent power outages, but they do happen occasionally. If you experience an outage at your business, here are some emergency preparedness tips.
Learn how to override or manually operate security gates
Develop a business continuity plan that defines employee roles and responsibilities during an electric outage
Create a list of critical equipment that must be turned off during an outage to prevent damage
Try to keep mobile devices fully charged at all times
Familiarize yourself with your office’s utility boxes (electricity, water and gas) and how to turn them off; keep the proper tools to do so handy
Identify an off-site meeting area in case you need to evacuate
Prepare Your Home
A little planning and preparation can pay off and help keep your family safe. Start by learning how to use your home’s fuse and breaker boxes, and invest in surge protectors to protect your electronics if power goes out. Be sure they’re properly rated for your electronics.
Keep important telephone numbers near your home’s main phone (fire department, paramedics, police, hospital, doctors, relatives, neighbors)
Place flashlights in handy locations, like near the home phone
Install surge protectors to safeguard valuable electronics like computers and home entertainment systems
Get acquainted with your home’s utility boxes (electricity, water, and gas), learn how to turn them off, and keep the tools handy
Public Safety Power Shutoffs
When there are extreme and potentially dangerous weather conditions, SCE may need to call a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) event. During these events, SCE will proactively turn off power in high fire risk areas to reduce the threat of wildfires. Turning off customers’ power is not something taken lightly, but PSPS events are one of the ways to better ensure the safety of the public, customers, and employees.
