Electrical Safety Tips

Never touch a power line — even one that is on the ground. Consider even downed wires to be charged with electrical current or “live”. If you see a downed power line, call Southern California Edison (SCE)’s 24-hour emergency number, 1-800-611-1911, immediately.

Replace or repair electrical appliances that are broken or have damaged wires or insulation. Damaged equipment or wires can give a powerful shock when touched.

Keep all electrical equipment on your property accessible at all times. If the equipment belongs to SCE, our employees may need to get to it quickly and safely in order to do their jobs. This is especially true during an emergency. Don’t climb on or try to repair any SCE equipment.

Before allowing utility employees into your home or business, request to see their Employee Identification cards to confirm their identity. SCE employees are required to carry picture identification cards with them. To learn more, see Identifying SCE Employees.

Get practical safety tips from SCE for indoor, outdoor & workplace.

Entertaining and educational sites for students, teachers and parents.

Electrical Safety World – Experiments, games and activities for elementary and middle school children, parents and teachers presenting basic concepts of electricity and emphasizing safety.

Science & Safety of Electricity – In-depth articles, experiments and interactive games teaching the principles of electric science and safety to students in grades 6 through 10.

Efficient Cooking

There are a few easy ways to save energy when cooking which can also speed up your time spent over a hot stove. Always use the correct size pan and when heating water only use the amount you need so the electricity is not burning unnecessarily to heat the excess.

If only using a small pan, then use a smaller burner. Boiling water in the kettle first will save the time the burner needs to heat the water and putting a lid on with help it come to the boil quicker.

When making a cup of tea, only boil the amount of water that you need. Boiling a full kettle unnecessarily is a waste of electricity.

Fridge and Freezer

The location of your fridge can make a difference to how energy efficient it is. Make sure it is out of direct sunlight and not close to the oven. It is best to keep it against an outside wall so that the heat it generates can escape easily and always make sure that there is a few inches space all around the fridge so that air can circulate

Make sure you defrost your fridge and freezer on a regular basis or whenever necessary. An iced up freezer will make the freezer work harder therefore wasting more energy than needed. Only set your fridge to as cold as you need it and avoid keeping the door open for long periods of time as the more cold air that escapes, the harder the fridge has to work. You should check the seal regularly too as if it is damaged then cold air will be escaping also.

You should never put warm of hot food into the fridge as this will make the fridge work extra hard to try and keep cold, always allow food to cool down first.

Another good tip is to defrost frozen food in the fridge as helps to keep it cool as it thaws.

Click here to read more tips on how to save electricity.