May Is National Electrical Safety Month:

Are You Being Safe Around Electricity?

BERLIN — May is National Electrical Safety Month and Connecticut Light & Power (CL&P) is reminding customers that with warmer weather and vacations come more outdoor activities and potential distractions.

CL&P offers these helpful tips to make this time of year safe and enjoyable:

*Always stay away from downed power lines and assume any fallen wires are live and extremely dangerous. Don’t touch anything that may be in contact with downed wires. Call 911 immediately to report downed wires.

*Underground wires are a hidden danger. Never dig around a home or business without checking for underground wires or cables. Contact Call Before You Dig (CBYD) at 811 or use the Call Before You Dig website (www.cbyd.com). Connecticut law requires you to call at least two full working days, excluding weekends and holidays, before digging.

*When working outdoors, position ladders away from power lines; keep this in mind when painting or cleaning gutters. Even a wooden ladder can conduct electricity. Maintain a minimum 10 feet of clearance from overhead power lines.

*Before using any electrical tool, be sure to inspect it for frayed power cords, broken plugs, and cracked or broken sockets. When using an electric appliance outdoors, be sure it is plugged into an outlet that has a weatherproof cover and a ground fault circuit interrupter. If a problem occurs in the equipment, the interrupter will instantly cut the power, preventing a serious electric shock. Never use an electric appliance near a pool or other wet surfaces.

*Be sure all electrical equipment for your swimming pool is grounded properly. If you are installing a pool, have it inspected by your town’s electrical inspector when the job is completed. A ground fault circuit interrupter should be installed on your pool’s electrical equipment.

*Do not let anyone climb utility poles, towers, pad-mounted transformers, or trees near power lines. If your kite should get snagged in power lines or in a tree in which lines might be concealed, don’t try to free it yourself. If your pet gets stranded on a pole or if your child’s ball or toy goes into a electric substation, do not try to get them yourself. CL&P customers should call 800-286-2000 or 860-947-2000 in the Hartford and Meriden calling areas.

*Watch for power lines when sailing or bringing your boat ashore. Lower the mast when pulling the boat on a trailer to avoid contact with power lines along the road.

*If you buy a generator, make sure it is properly installed by a licensed electrician and it includes a transfer switch. Keep in mind that you may also need a town permit or an official inspection.

For additional electrical safety tips, visit www.safenotsorry.org and “like” CL&P’s Safe Not Sorry page on Facebook. “Be Safe, Not Sorry” is the theme of CL&P’s new safety campaign for young people which features a video and rap. The actors are CL&P line workers and local students, including a group from the R.J. Kinsella Magnet School of Performing Arts in Hartford. “The Safe Not Sorry Rap” is performed by The Safe Not Sorry Kids and New Haven-based rapper Stezo.

“This is safety information that everyone should know, no matter what your age may be,” said Denise Ducimo, manager, safety, CL&P. “It’s especially relevant at this time of year when people are outside and doing things around sources of electricity.”

Learn more about electrical safety by visiting CL&P’s website www.cl-p.com, and clicking “Safety,” the US Consumer Product Safety Commission website at www.cpsc.gov, or Electrical Safety Foundation International at www.esfi.org.