MERRILLVILLE – Just in time for Severe Weather Awareness Week in Indiana, which runs Sunday, March 10 through Saturday, March 16 this year, NIPSCO is reminding customers of the steps they can take to prepare for potential severe weather.
“With the spring season right around the corner, the time to get ready for storms is now,” said Mike Hooper, NIPSCO president. “Severe Weather Preparedness Week is a great time for our customers to learn about how they can keep themselves and their families safe while enjoying the many benefits that electric and natural gas energy offers.”
Here’s what you need to know for severe weather:
• Have an emergency plan and practice it with your family.
• Compile a storm preparedness kit, including essential medicines, non-perishable food items and water, flashlights, portable radios, extra batteries and a manual can opener.
• If someone in your family requires life support equipment, make prior arrangements for a back-up power supply. This may mean having a generator or a plan to go to a healthcare facility that has backup power.
• If you have a generator, make sure to follow the instructions supplied with the unit, and position it away from doors, windows and vents that could allow carbon monoxide to come indoors.
• Label gas valves, water valves and electricity main switches. Teach responsible family members how and when to turn them off.
• Store any flammable liquids, such as gasoline, paint and cleaning products away from any natural gas appliance with a pilot light.
• If your appliances have been impacted by severe weather, do not attempt to place natural gas appliances back in service yourself. A qualified professional should check, clean, repair and test all gas appliances and pipes.
• If you smell the sulfur-like “rotten egg” odor of natural gas or think there may be a gas leak, stop what you are doing, leave the area immediately, and then call 911 and the NIPSCO 24/7 gas emergency line at 1-800-634-3424.
Flooding safety tips:
• In the event of a flood, turn off electrical power to each appliance and leave it off.
• If the natural gas is shut off at the meter, call NIPSCO to turn it back on for you.
• If water levels were high enough to cover the gas meter, call us to check your meter and regulator before using your gas appliances. Floodwaters may have shifted your home or caused other stresses, possibly resulting in a natural gas leak.
Other safety tips:
• Keep candles away from furniture, draperies and other flammable materials. Also keep children and pets away from open flames.
• Do not use a stove or grill to heat your home.
• If you leave your home while the power is out, check that all heat-producing appliances such as irons are unplugged before you leave.
• Do not touch downed power lines or hanging power lines or anything touching them. All downed wires should be treated as if they are live and dangerous. Report it immediately by calling 1-800-464-7726.
For more tips on staying safe before, during, and after a storm, visit NIPSCO.com/stormsafety.
Visit NIPSCO.com to enroll in outage alerts, including updates on the cause of a power outage and estimated restoration times. Customers who experience an electric outage during a storm should also report it to NIPSCO in one of the following ways:
1) On the NIPSCO Mobile App
2) Online at NIPSCO.com/out
3) Text the word “Out” to 444111
4) Call 1-800-464-7726