Unless there is a scheduled power outage in Los Angeles, you can never predict when the power in your home will be gone. However, you can know what to do in such cases and be ready to brace it safely. There’s nothing inherently dangerous about a power outage, but they can lend themselves to dangerous situations if you’re not careful. That’s why it’s important to remain alert and make sure you take some preemptive steps the moment you realize the power’s gone. Let’s go over a few of these.
Have Means of Communication at Hand
A lot of house phones are able to work with just their connection to the phone jack on the wall, making them good means of communication during a power outage in Los Angeles. However, these are not that common nowadays. If your household relies solely on cell phones, then it’s a good idea to keep fully charged portable chargers around the house in cases of emergency. That way you can extend your battery life while you get power back. It’s important to remain communicated despite the loss of energy, especially if the power outage is generalized and not just specific to your home or building.
Make Sure Appliances Are Off
Unpredictable surges of energy can damage electrical appliances, which is why you should either unplug these in case of a power outage or turn off your main circuit breaker to prevent unexpected power surges. The appliances you should watch out for the most are computers and televisions, for these are very sensitive. Additionally, if you were cooking or ironing at the time of the power outage, be sure to turn these off to prevent any accidents. Turning appliances off also helps reduce the energy your home is demanding at the moment, making the restoration of service easier for your utility provider.
Maintain Safety and Comfort
Now that you have the means to communicate and have prevented any potential safety hazards, try to remain safe and comfortable throughout the duration of the outage. This means making sure your doors are properly locked, finding a warm/cool spot (depending on the weather at the time), and try not to move around too much to prevent accidents. If you are using candles, watch out for where you place them and don’t leave them unattended. Try to use flashlights instead.
Determine the Source of the Power Outage in Los Angeles
Now, you will need to confirm the source of this power outage. Your first instinct might be to blame LADWP or your landlord, but that might not always be the case. A good quick way to know is to look out to the street and see if streetlights or other homes in the area still have power. If not, it’s probably a localized occurrence and should be dealt with soon by the appropriate authorities on the subject. However, if your home is the only one without power, you might actually be dealing with an issue in your own electrical issue. If that’s the case, you should contact an electrical repair service to take a look at it. USA Electrical Repairs can help you with any electrical issue you are having at home. Call (800) 708-2190 in case of a power outage in Los Angeles and we’ll take of it.
