This restoration process image was adapted from an original image created by Carolina Country Heavy rain, tropical cyclones, and tornadoes can bring power outages to Texans in the coming months. These outages can impact thousands of people and it can take several days, or even weeks to restore electric power to everyone. Restoring power after a major outage is a BIG job that involves much more than moving a few trees and throwing a switch. You should contact the company that delivers power and owns and maintains your powerlines - your "wires" or power delivery company - to report your power outage. Once power is restored to critical health and public safety facilities, your delivery company's main goal is to restore power safely to the greatest number of consumers in the shortest time possible. Your patience and cooperation is greatly appreciated. In the event of a hurricane or other disaster, telephone service may be interrupted, or you may receive a busy signal when you try to obtain or report information to your delivery company. Know that all Texas power delivery companies have 24-hour outage service and all available phone lines are monitored 24 hours a day. If lines are busy and you are unable to reach NEC or your local delivery company, please be patient and continue trying. NEC will provide regular updates on outages and power restoration efforts to area media until all power has been restored and if you can access the Internet, updates will be on our website at www.nueceselectric.org. If you have an emergency situation and cannot reach your power delivery company, please contact your local law enforcement office.

Electric Safety & Severe Storms

GENERATORS If used improperly a back-up generator can make life a lot more dangerous! Follow manufacturer instructions to protect you and your family when using a portable generator. Avoid it if at all possible, but if you must connect the generator to the house wiring, have a qualified electrician hook up the standby electrical system. Visit www.nueceselectric.org for safety tips to protect your family and linemen from being shocked by power from your generator while doing repairs to the line.

WIRING AND APPLIANCES EXPOSED TO WATER If you have appliances or equipment that have been exposed to water never assume they are safe to use after they have dried. Before you try to use any electrical appliance that has been exposed to water, take it to a qualified service technician. The item may be fine, it may need reconditioning, or it might require replacement.

DOWNED POWER LINES Assume that any downed power line is “live.” Do not go near it or attempt to remove anything in contact with it. Report the problem immediately to the utility and local fire or police authorities. If you can, stay nearby to warn others away from the downed line. If you’re inside a car in contact with a downed line, stay inside! You can safely use a cellular phone, if you have one, to call for help. Never drive across a downed power line. If someone is shocked by contact with a downed line, don’t touch the person! Use a dry, unpainted plastic or wooden object, such as broom handle, to try to separate the victim from the power source. Call 911 for help immediately.

Report NEC Outages to: 387-2581 or toll-free 1-800-632-9288