When the power goes out, City Light crews work around the clock to restore it as quickly as possible while keeping safety as the number one priority. Getting through an outage safely will be easier when you know what to do.
Life Support Equipment Program
If someone in your home uses life sustaining equipment dependent on electricity, we provide assistance to help you maintain safety during planned and unplanned outages.
Generator Safety
Power generators can be dangerous if not used properly. Get the information you need to avoid shock, electrocution, carbon monoxide poisoning or fire.
Protect Yourself and Your Business
Prepare:
- Keep an emergency kit that includes a flashlight with fresh batteries, glow-in-the-dark stick lights, a wind-up clock, portable radio, and mylar blanket.
- Stock up on drinking water, non-perishable food, first-aid supplies, prescribed medications, and additional blankets - for your furry family members too!
- Know how to manually override your electric garage door and how to exit an electrically secured building.
Remember:
- Keep trees located around power lines trimmed. Before you trim trees, observe the 10-foot rule by not working on trees within 10 feet of any kind of overhead wires.
- Unplug sensitive electronic equipment that are not plugged into a surge protector because power surges or outages may be a danger during storms.
- Never use portable gas grills or stoves indoors.
- Call 911 to report downed lines and never approach them.
Learn more about preparing for and what to do during a planned or unplanned outage.
How We Keep You Safe
Sometimes power outages occur due to storms, cars hitting poles, equipment failure, and other unforeseen events. We can’t prevent the occasional unplanned outage from happening, but when it does, we work quickly and safely to restore your power. Our approach includes:
- Prioritizing restoration for critical services such as fire stations and hospitals to ensure the safety of those most vulnerable during an outage. Learn more about how outages happen and the steps we take to restore power.
- Keeping trees trimmed back where needed to reduce the risk of electrical fires and injuries from downed power lines. Every day, our team of professional arborists works to ensure the reliability of our electricity and safety of our communities, while protecting the health of our urban forest. Learn more about our approach to vegetation management.
- Ensuring the safety and reliability of our service throughout the year. In addition to repairing downed power lines and maintaining grid infrastructure, we’re always working to improve safety and reliability through streetlight repair and other safety programs across the region. Learn more about the ongoing work we’re doing to keep you safe and the power on.