WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — Power lines help keep us going throughout the day, but Andrew Vickery from Georgia Power explains why they’re so dangerous when there’s a storm.
"If you do experience severe weather, you know after a storm we want to encourage people or urge people to never touch any downed or low-hanging wires, never pull limbs off of downed lines, or enter areas with debris or downed lines, and don't walk or drive through areas with standing water where there may be downed lines," Vickery said.
As we monitor the storm, Robert Thompson and the rest of Flint Energies is doing the same to prepare an effective response to Hurricane Idalia.
"We’re obviously monitoring the weather to see where it may impact our system the most. We line up the crews whether it be our own crews or if we’re using contract crews," Thompson said. "We’ll make sure those are lined up and that they have the supplies they need.”
Flint Energies uses the trickle-down method for outages so they can help more people in a timely manner.
"What we’ll do is start with the larger outages and the substations that we will work out to the smaller outages and this allows us to get the most number of people on in the least amount of time is what we’re trying to accomplish,” Thompson said.
Vickery gives some suggestions on prepping for severe weather.
"Tips on preparedness for a storm things like checking your emergency kit, unplugging major appliances, charging your cell phones,” Vickery said.
Thompson explains when they can dispatch crews to fix reported outages.
"We can dispatch people as long as the winds are not over 35mph. At that point it becomes a danger for them to be in buckets and to be out in those winds,” Thompson said.
Vickery shares advice as we meet Hurricane Idalia tomorrow.
“I would say keep safety as your top priority and know that Georgia Power is ready to respond," Vickery said. "We’re ready to respond to your area and get your lights back on if they go out.”
There are several ways to report outages for both companies. You can visit the Georgia Power website or call 888-891-0938. You can report an outage to Flint Energies through their app or through their outage hotline at 888-354-6836.