Pike County Light & Power wants to remind you to be prepared at all times for any kind of power interruption. While we do our best to prevent these inconveniences, it is not possible to prevent them entirely. Here are some suggestions for helping you be storm ready:

• Have a back-up, minimum three-day water supply on hand, especially if you are on a well;
• Keep your cell phone charged, particularly when you are aware of impending inclement weather, and consider having a back-up battery charger;
• Have alternative light sources available such as flashlights with fresh batteries, oil lamps, lanterns, candles, etc., but be especially careful with open flames;
• Consider having an alternative heat source available such as a wood stove; don't use your gas appliances as heat sources, however, since this can cause a buildup of deadly carbon monoxide;
• Have a generator available with a supply of fuel, and do not use it indoors or in a garage;
• Keep a non-perishable food supply available, and be sure you have a manual can opener;
• Keep your freezer full, or if not full of food, fill it with jugs of water that will help maintain cold temperatures during an outage; keep the fridge and freezer doors closed;
• Keep extra blankets available;
• Purchase a hand-crank radio, or have a battery-powered radio on hand;
• Have an emergency plan and meeting location and communicate these instructions to all family members;
• Check on elderly or disabled neighbors;
• Keep tree limbs trimmed and consider having trees near power lines or near your home professionally removed. Only high-voltage-qualified tree trimmers are permitted to clear trees near energized lines. Contact Pike directly at 855-855-2050 to confirm no electric wires are near your tree(s).
• Have working carbon monoxide detectors and smoke alarms on every floor of your home;
• Go to an emergency shelter if temperatures are too extreme to wait out the storm/outage;
• For your vehicle, keep blankets, a flashlight, jumper cables, and water in your trunk; keep your gas tank full; consider having a signal mirror, compass and first aid kit, as well as a lighter or fire starter, and be sure you have good tread on your tires.