Georgia Power provides power outage safety tips

ALBANY — As severe weather moved through the state on Wednesday, Georgia Power was reminding people to keep safety first during a power outage.

Safety tips provided on Wednesday included:

— Never pull tree limbs off of power lines or enter areas with debris or downed trees as downed power lines may be buried in wreckage;

— Always assume that power lines are energized. Do not drive over downed power lines and avoid standing water, metal fences, television lines, cable lines and other items that may conduct electricity;

— Use battery-powered lanterns, if possible, rather than candles to light homes without electrical power;

— Never use generators or charcoal-burning devices inside the home. They produce carbon monoxide, which is an odorless, colorless gas that can be fatal.

Georgia Power provides outage alerts to its consumers who subscribe to the free Georgia Power Outage Alert service to receive personalized notifications and updates via text message. They can visit www.georgiapower.com/storm to sign up for Outage Alerts, report and check the status of outages, and access useful safety tips and information.

Customers can report and check the status of an outage 24 hours a day by contacting Georgia Power at (888) 891-0938.

In its Outage and Storm Center, Georgia Power has an interactive Outage Map providing near real-time information, allowing users to see where outages are occurring across the state and track estimated restoration times. The company is also posting regular updates with estimated restoration times on the map.

Information regarding storm and outage information is also accessible through the Georgia Power Mobile App.