Unfortunately, power outages happen. During an outage, Claverack crews work hard to restore members' power, but this can still leave members without power for varying amounts of time.
The following tips will help keep you and your family safe during a power outage.
Prepare an Outage Kit
Have a kit prepared before an outage happens. It should include:
- Flashlights with fresh batteries.
- Matches for lighting gas stoves or clean-burning heaters.
- Wood for a properly ventilated fireplace.
- First aid kit, prescription medicines, and baby supplies.
- Food that can be kept in coolers and a manual can opener.
- A non-cordless telephone and/or fully charged cellular phone.
- Bottled drinking water.
- Battery-powered emergency lights and radio.
Keep Your Food Safe
The electricity just went out and your refrigerator is packed with food. The following tips are provided by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and will help ensure your food is safe during and after a power outage.
You should:
- Never taste the food to determine its safety.
- Keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed to maintain a cold temperature (a full refrigerator will keep food cold for four hours and a full freezer will hold a safe temperature for 48 hours).
- Obtain dry ice to keep your refrigerator and freezer cold if power is expected to be out for a long time.
- Check the temperature of your freezer with an appliance thermometer if the power has been out for a few days (food should be at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or below).
- Discard refrigerated perishable food such as meat, poultry, fish, cheeses, milk, eggs, leftovers and deli items after four hours without power.
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