There are many things you must do during power outages in Pennsylvania. On this page, you will get to know all the necessary actions you must take before and during power outages.

If you landed on this page seeking information about the power outages in Pennsylvania, then you are on the right page.

On this page, you should be able to find information about how to prepare for power outages, and what to do during and after power outages as well. You should also be able to know how to track and report power outages no matter your Electric supplier.

You can use the table of content below to navigate through the content of this page. Simply click on any of the topics to jump to that particular article.

Power outages in Pennsylvania

There are over thousands of customers whose lights go off for hours in Pennsylvania most of the time. While these outages might not be anybody’s fault sometimes, it still feels really bad to be caught up in the situation.

What causes power outages?

There there are so many things that cause power outages. Below are some of the common causes of power outages in Pennsylvania.

Storms: Storms are the major causes of most power outages. Since storms come with a lot of wind pressure, it becomes a matter of “only the strongest survive” for these electric poles. If an electric pole can’t stand the pressure from the wind, there will definitely be an outage when it falls.

Overgrown tree branches: From time to time we see electric companies employing people to cut off tree branches that are growing too close to their power lines. Well! That is because there will be a problem if it touches the power line.

Faulty circuit boards: One of the common causes of power outages people don’t regard is broken or faulty circuit boards. It might not sound like much of a problem but when it breaks, it could cause your entire building to blackout.

10 Things to do before and during power outages in Pennsylvania

It is very necessary to accept the fact that there will be a power outage one day. That is why you must know what to do before it comes or during the period when you experiencing it. Below are some of the things you should do before or during outages.

1. Finding out about load shedding and maintenance schedules

Load shedding and maintenance are some major causes of power outages. Most electric companies put out notices on their various platforms to announce the most outages that will affect customers. It is important to take note of them as a customer. It helps you know when and where there will be outages.

2. Get back up power

For companies, it is very vital to have standby generators. It is what you will have to rely on during power outages in Pennsylvania. Residential users can also get a mini generator to use during power outages. Solar panels and other renewable sources are also helpful in this case.

3. Charge your phones and battery-operated devices

If you know the outage schedules, then you must probably know when to charge your phone and other devices. Especially touch lights since you will need them during the outage.

4. Fill your gas tank

Fuel pumps rely fully on electric energy so you must fill your gas tank to avoid problems when you need fuel. If you are using an electric vehicle, then you must charge it fully before the power goes off.

5. Track and report power outages in Pennsylvania

The first thing to do during power outages is to track the outage. If it has not been reported then you report it. If you are a FirstEnergy customer, that will be easy because I have covered how to track and report outages in my previous articles. For other companies, you can use websites like poweroutage.us to track the power outages in Pennsylvania.

6. Do not plug your gen into the mains

The generator is what most people use as backup power during power outages in Pennsylvania. If you happen to use one, do not plug it into the mains especially, if you do not understand how electricity works. If your backup generator was installed by experts, follow the given guidelines to turn it on.

7. Use flashlights only

Use flashlights for emergency lighting during power outages in Pennsylvania. These lights rely on batteries so it is easy to turn them on and off. Avoid candles since they can cause fire outbreaks.

8. Avoid opening your fridge and freezer

Fridges and freezers keep our foods cold and frozen. Some power outages might not last for the whole day but you wouldn’t know how long the next one will last. If the power goes out, make sure you keep your fridge and freezers closed.

The more you open, the more warm air from the environment will enter, and that will not be good for the items in your fridge or freezer.

9. Keep people away from fallen power lines

If the outage is caused by a fallen power line, do well to keep people away from going near the fallen line until the experts arrive. This will help keep the people from hurting themselves and also reduce the problems the experts might have to deal with when they arrive.

10. Turn off everything

I also use to keep the light switch up even when there is no power just so I will know as soon as the power comes back.

This action is bad actually. Sometimes, when your power gets reconnected to the grid, the current flows under pressure. This could cause some bulbs to explode or some fuses in gadgets to break.

The best line of action during a power outage is to turn off all your sockets, switches, and gadgets. If you want to check whether the power is back, you can always check by looking at your electric meter.