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COPING WITH POWER OUTAGES
Residing at Lake Almanor West means accepting periodic power outages as a fact of life. Outages often occur during heavy storms when limbs or trees fall onto power transmission lines,. But they also occur during periods of great weather due to accidents or other causes. So it's best to be prepared for the inevitable.
Checking the Main Breaker
When the power goes out in the entire house, you'll want to verify that it is indeed a neighborhood outage and not just your place. Start by checking your main circuit breaker, which is located outside next to the electric meter. If your breaker panel is outside, the main breaker will be the large one at the top of the panel. If the main breaker is ON and you have no power, you can be pretty sure that it's a neighborhood problem. A quick call to an adjacent neighbor would confirm that.
Contacting PG&E
The next step is to contact PG&E to notify them of the outage. Do not assume that someone else has already called it in. PG&E maintains a toll-free "hotline" especially for this purpose, and it will automatically list all known outages in the area when you call. The number to call is 1-800-743-5002.
Supplies and Backups
It is prudent to have essential supplies on hand before an outage occurs. And it's also wise to have given some thought to how you intend to cope with the situation if the outage is an extended one (the area has experienced outages for as long as several days from time to time). In terms of supplies, it is important to have candles, oil lamps and propane lamps in addition to flashlights and battery lamps. A couple of jugs of water turned to ice in the freezer can help sustain your refrigerator. And don't forget matches, spare batteries and extra fuel. Since outages seem to occur at the least opportune times, be sure that you can FIND your lighting backups in a dark house!
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