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Electric cooperatives committed
to promoting electrical safety
Maybe someone in your family can recall life before electric service came to his or her home in rural Mississippi. But most people these days can’t imagine not having electricity. Many take their electric service for granted and rarely think about it.
Your electric power association, on the other hand, never loses sight of the great responsibility behind this great convenience: the responsibility to deliver your electricity reliably and safely.
An important part of delivering electricity is the job of teaching users to respect its awesome power. Electric power associations do a great deal to promote the safe use of electricity in their service areas by teaching consumers (and their children) how electricity works and how to prevent electrical accidents.
We consider electrical safety education part of our responsibility to the communities we serve. And we want to make sure people of all ages—from preschoolers to seniors—treat electricity with respect and learn to live with it safely.
As we observe national Electrical Safety Month in May, we want you to know what we do to help keep your electric service safe.
The electric lines that deliver electricity to you are built and maintained under extremely strict procedures and guidelines. Periodic inspection and maintenance of poles, transformers and other equipment are among the many precautions we take to ensure safe service.
As part of this program, your electric power association also makes sure that objects such as trees, grain bins, antennas and towers are a safe distance from power lines.
We routinely trim power line rights of way to keep saplings, bushes and shrubbery a safe distance from lines. The practice demands a sizable investment each year, but it pays off with safer and more reliable service; trees and limbs falling into power lines cause outages and create a hazardous situation until repairs can be made.
Electric power association employees learn how to work safely by taking part in extensive training programs. Thorough knowledge of safety procedures prepares them not only to protect themselves on the job but to help protect the public during emergency situations, such as a hurricane, tornado, ice storm or other natural disaster.
You, as a user of electricity, share in the responsibility we all have in practicing electric safety. Learning a few electrical safety rules takes a little time and effort but it can save a life.
First and foremost, avoid contact with electricity at all times. Spend a minute before starting an outdoor project to make sure tall equipment can not reach a power line. Don’t risk the serious injury or death that can result when a ladder, antenna or any other object touches an overhead power line.
Point out the danger to every member of your household, and make sure children fly their kites far away from power lines.
And please, if you have any questions concerning electrical safety, contact your electric power association. We can give you life-saving advice.
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