You don’t need an almanac, crystal ball or even a professional meteorologist to predict that more nasty weather is on the way this winter. Rain, wind, and occasional sleet and snow are all likely to be in the forecast before spring makes its welcome return.
None of us can predict just when the nasty weather will blow in to complicate our lives, but we can count on electrical disruptions as part of the package. And, if you’ll pardon the pun, we’re pretty much powerless to prevent them.
Creating a personal emergency kit is a simple way to assure your comfort and safety during a power outage. The folks at the Snohomish County PUD (in their Current Magazine) have come up with a short list of essential items that every household should have on hand to help weather a seemingly inevitable power outage. These items include a flashlight, portable radio and, of course, batteries. Other important items to think about are a supply of drinking water, food bars or canned food (along with a manual can opener), blankets and a well-stocked first aid kit.
In addition to offering helpful tips to their customers, the folks at the PUD are planning ahead for the winter storm season and keeping their fingers crossed that we don’t have a repeat of last year — when costs for restoring power from two major storms topped $12 million. Along with a significant tree-trimming effort, they’ve added a major transmission line between Lake Goodwin and Stanwood and enhanced their telephone call center to help handle a higher volume of customer calls. They’re poised and ready to answer the phone and deploy restoration crews when those inescapable storms blow into our region.
Still, despite the PUD’s best efforts, some customers are sure to be on their own for a time without power. Planning ahead with a well-stocked emergency kit won’t keep the lights on, but it will make things more comfortable while you wait for the professionals from the PUD storm crew to restore your power.
One more thing to add to that emergency kit for when the lights go out: a reasonable amount of patience and understanding. The hard-working PUD crews will appreciate it.
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