NYSEG Safety Tips for Hurricane Sandy

10/29/2012 (Updated 6:51:44 PM)

It may be a little late now to prepare for Hurricane Sandy, but there are still precautions you can take to help keep you safe.

NYSEG warns about staying away from downed power lines and not to wade into flooded basements that could cause electric shocks.  Also, if you're going to use a generator make sure to carefully read the manufacturer's instructions, and to never run emergency generators inside because they can produce deadly carbon monoxide.

"Our first order of business is to respond to all downed wire incidents to make sure those are safe before we can do anything else," said Clayton Ellis, Manager of Corporate Communications of NYSEG.  "So sometime it takes us a little bit of time to get into the restoration process.  If we have serious damage in some areas of our service area customers in those areas could be without power for days."

If you lose power, check with your neighbors to make sure it's not a problem with your own home.  Then you should call the electrical emergency number: 1-800-572-1131.