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Tips to Keep You Safe Around Electricity If there’s a storm, or you lose power:
- Stay away from fallen power lines. There’s a good chance that electricity is still running through them.
- Turn off major appliances like air conditioners or TV sets.
- Have a battery-operated flashlight handy.
- Keep refrigerators and freezers closed. The food will stay cold for hours, and frozen food will keep for a few days.
When you’re doing work outside your home:
- Don’t trim tree branches if a power line runs through them.
- Always be aware of where your electric lines are located. Keep a safe distance away from them when using or carrying a ladder.
- Never let a ladder touch a power line. Be especially careful if you are using a metal ladder.
- Never operate electric trimmers, mowers, or power tools on or near wet grass or shrubs, or with wet hands. Always use heavy-duty, grounded extension cords.
- If you plan to put up or repair a TV or radio antenna, consider hiring a professional contractor to do the job. Antennas are difficult and dangerous to handle.
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Tips to Keep Your Children Safe Around Electricity Teach your children about electric safety by reminding them to:
- Stay away from power lines, including downed wires.
- Never climb trees that are near electric lines.
- Never climb utility poles or power line towers.
- Never play near “Danger High Voltage” signs.
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You Can Do It! Fuses and Circuit Breakers … an Easy Fix If power goes out in your home, the problem is probably with a blown fuse or tripped circuit breaker. These are an easy fix that you can handle yourself. But, if power goes out in your entire neighborhood, be sure to call PSE&G right away.
Every home has a box that brings electricity in from the street. This box contains what are called fuses or circuit breakers that connect to the electrical wires inside your walls. If too much electricity runs through a wire, a fuse can blow out or a circuit breaker will shut off automatically. When this happens, you can replace the fuse or turn the circuit breaker back on and your power will be restored. Here’s how: First, disconnect the appliance or lamp that seems to have caused the problem. Then, if you have fuses, go to your fuse box.
- Be sure your hands are dry and you are standing on a dry floor.
- Check the fuses in the box to see whether the metal link inside the fuse has melted ("blown") or discolored the window at the top of the fuse.
- Unscrew any blown fuse and replace it with a new one of the same type. (You can buy fuses at your local hardware store. It’s a good idea to bring the old one with you, to be sure you get the kind and size you need.)
Or, if you have circuit breakers, go to your circuit breaker box:
- Be sure your hands are dry and you are standing on a dry floor.
- Locate the switch that is in the "off" position.
- Push it all the way to the "off" position and then back to "on."
That’s it. However, please note that if your fuses blow out or circuit breakers trip often, the wiring in your home may be too old and not up to modern standards, or could have too much connected to them. Please consult a state-licensed electrical contractor for advice.
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Carbon Monoxide (CO) Can Kill You Carbon Monoxide (CO) is a gas that has no color, no odor, and no taste. It can cause serious illness, or even death, if breathed in for a long time. Small amounts of CO are in the air we breathe whenever fuel such as oil, natural gas, coal or wood is burned and these amounts usually are not harmful. But if your heating system or chimney is not working properly, too much CO can build up in the air. If this happens, you could start feeling like you have the flu. You might have a headache, feel tired, dizzy, sick to your stomach, or all of these combined. Fresh air lessens the symptoms. If you think high levels of CO may be in your home:
- Open doors and windows.
- Shut off fuel-burning appliances, and
- Call PSE&G at 1-800-436-PSEG (7734), or your local emergency squad for help.
- Go outside until help arrives!
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About CO Detectors Buy carbon monoxide detectors as back-up protection (They are not a substitute for proper use and maintenance of fuel-burning appliances). CO alarms can provide an early warning to consumers before CO builds up to a dangerous level.
To have your heating equipment or other appliances inspected, serviced or repaired, contact PSE&G 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 1-800-350-PSEG (7734).
If you suspect a gas leak:
- MOVE to a safe environment.
- CALL 911 and PSE&G at 1-800-880-PSEG (7734) immediately.
- DO NOT smoke or operate electrical switches or appliances. Do not operate anything that may produce a spark that might ignite the gas and cause an explosion.
- DO NOT assume someone else will report the condition.
- PROVIDE the exact location, including cross streets.
- LET US KNOW if sewer construction or digging activities are going on in the area.
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An Ounce of Prevention Help us keep PSE&G employees safe PSE&G regularly comes to your home to take meter readings (see page 4) or to service your appliances see page 10). In addition, we’re often in your neighborhood checking gas or electric problems for you. Help us stay safe in and around your home.
At home:
- Make sure that the paths leading to your meters and appliances are safe and properly lit — especially stairs. Keep the area around your outside meters clear of rakes, water hoses and other gardening tools. Keep the area around your inside meters clear of clutter such as clothes, shoes and boxes on floors and basement stairs.
- Keep the area around your appliances free and clear of clutter.
- Make sure the areas around PSE&G’s utility poles, meters and transformer boxes are easy to get to and clear of plants and trees.
- Let us know if you have a dog, or other pets—before we enter your home. Please put pet(s) behind closed doors when our workers are in or around your house.
- Tell us ahead of time about hazardous conditions such as broken steps or loose railings.
On the road:
- Use caution as you approach utility employees working in the street.
- Pay attention to emergency workers directing the flow of traffic.
- Respect traffic cones.
- Be patient and careful, and follow the traffic control warnings around PSE&G job sites.
While driving:
Traffic accidents can put our employees in danger and keep us from reaching you when you need us. For everyone’s safety:
- Leave three seconds traveling distance between you and the vehicle in front of you.
- When driving through an intersection, take your foot off the gas, put it lightly over the brake and check both ways for vehicles.
- Give driving 100 percent of your attention. Don’t be distracted by cell phones, CDs or drinking coffee. Remember that in New Jersey, it is against the law to use a cell phone while driving, unless it is hands-free.
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Call Before You Dig The greatest risk to underground natural gas pipelines is accidental damage while digging or during excavation. To protect you, pipelines and other underground facilities, the law requires that you contact the New Jersey (NJ) One Call Center three full business days before digging or excavation work begins on public or private property. The NJ One Call Center will tell PSE&G, and other utility companies about your project. Company workers will then visit your work site and place markers where utility lines are buried at no charge to you. Do not take chances with safety. Call before you dig to make sure that the work is done safely and without problems.
- Call 1-800-272-1000 or 811
- Call at least three full business days before you start your digging project. Remember: Call before you dig… it’s the law.*
*The One-Call Law requires that utilities (cable, telephone, gas, electric and water) be located and marked.
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Check Your Heating System Before Winter Comes Have PSE&G check your gas heating system and turn on your pilot light before winter. By finding out about a problem early, you can avoid the unnecessary hassle of a system breakdown once the cold weather hits. If you call between Labor Day and October, you will have to pay a $25 fall turn-on charge for this service.
Easy steps if you want to do it yourself:
- If your gas heater pilot light is lit, set your thermostat five degrees above room temperature. Your heater should come on.
- If the pilot light is off, light it by following the instructions on the unit and let it burn for a few minutes before raising the thermostat five degrees above room temperature. Your heater should come on.
- For Steam systems: You also should check the water level in the sight glass. If low, turn on the water supply to bring the water level up to the halfway mark. Then turn off the water valve.
- For Hot Water systems: You also should listen and make sure the circulating water pump is operating.
- For Warm Air systems: You also should check/replace air filters and make sure the blower is working.
If your gas heater fails after attempting these steps, return the thermostat to its original setting and call PSE&G at 1-800-436-PSEG (7734).
Clean chimney—safer heating system:
A clean chimney is vital to the safe operation of your gas heating system and gas water heater. As a homeowner, it’s up to you to have your chimney checked at least once a year. To find a contractor, check the yellow pages of your phone book under “Chimney Cleaning.” (Read about the hazards of Carbon Monoxide above).
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PSE&G WorryFree Services* Did you know that you can count on PSE&G to repair, replace and protect your home heating and cooling equipment? PSE&G can also take care of many other household appliances as well.
You can protect your home from unexpected, costly repair bills with PSE&G’s WorryFree Contracts. They cover the cost and labor for many of the appliance parts likely to fail on major brands of heating and air conditioning equipment, as well as major home appliances. Plus, you never have to pay a deductible or labor charge to replace covered parts.** Cover your furnace/boiler and water heater for as little as 25¢ per day. We also have contracts that cover your refrigerator, freezer, gas fireplace, gas piping, dishwasher, washing machine, clothes dryer, stove or oven for an additional fee. All repair work is performed by PSE&G technicians.
If your furnace, boiler, water heater or central air conditioner needs to be replaced, PSE&G can do that for you as well. (All of these services are optional.) Payment is simple… we include WorryFree charges on your monthly energy bill.
To find out more, go to www.pseg.com/worryfree OR
- Call 1-800-350-PSEG (7734) to sign up for a WorryFree contract or request repair service.
- Call 1-800-539-PSEG (7734) for a replacement water heater, furnace, boiler or central air conditioner.
* PSE&G WorryFree Services are only available to customers located in PSE&G’s service area. Companies other than PSE&G may offer similar services. A list of those companies may be found through public listings, including telephone directories. PSE&G uses licensed plumbing contractors to replace your water heater.
** Subject to parts availability. Not all parts are covered.
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