APS known as Arizona Public Service is the biggest supplier of electricity in the United States and Arizona. This means that APS is responsible for the electric utility of many homes, businesses, governmental institutions, and infrastructures in these areas. So a power outage from APS would be very devasting because many homes, businesses and operations would be affected. What can you do when there is a power outage? Is there a way to avoid being affected by it? All these would be discussed in this article but first, let’s discuss what an APS power outage is really all about.
APS Power Outage is the loss of electricity throughout a given area or a specific location as a result of any form of interference between APS and the supply of electricity to homes, businesses, governmental institutions, and infrastructures. This blackout could be brief or last for a long period.
Causes of APS Power Outage
Below are the reasons why there could be an interference in the electricity supply that leads to APS Power Outage:
- Weather Condition: This is the most common reason for power outages. It could be a result of heavy rain, high winds, lightning, snow, and ice on power lines. Also, natural disasters like earthquakes, hurricanes, and severe storms can lead to a power outage.
- Falling of a Tree: When a tree falls due to high winds, or the process of felling, it could come in contact with power lines and lead to a power outage.
- Animals: The forests where animals dwell may be far away from the dwelling of humans but certain animals like snakes, and squirrels, can sometimes find their way to poles and electrical wires and cause a short circuit.
- High Power Demand: A high power demand and heat waves often lead to a strain on electric instruments like cables, and transformers, and this could these materials to melt or fail, leading to an outage.
- Vehicle: The collision of a vehicle against an electric pole, due to an accident or reckless driving can also lead to a power outage, especially if the vehicle is a truck or other heavy-duty vehicle.
- Excavation Digging: In the case of a digging project, you would want to call your country’s national call-before-you-dig number. This is important because this set of people are more familiar with areas where there are underground cables, because of how digging can affect these cables, it is important you make that call before you dig.
What to do in an APS Power Outage?
- Understand the Cause of the Outage: This is the first thing you should do, as it would help you determine the next steps. You will want to find out the cause of the outage if it was due to a weather condition, maybe not within your very locality but somewhere close enough to affect you. You should also check to see if it is just a problem peculiar to you, like a problem with your breaker. Also, consider other aforementioned causes. To do this, you might want to reach out to APS through their power outage number to report your experience, then they would give you more information as to the source of the problem.
- Turn off Appliances: After you must have confirmed the cause of the outage, you should turn off your appliances because when power returns, it could come with a surge of electrical energy strong enough to damage appliances that are still on or connected to sockets or switches.
- Find a Contingency Plan: This involves finding a means to ensure you and your family do not stay in the dark because you do not know how long this would take. You can assemble a kit that should contain torches and batteries. If you have a standby generator, this could come in very handy at this point. You can also choose to install it if you want.
- Adjust to the Situation: You cannot just sit and keep waiting and hoping the power is restored, you will need to find a way to keep going, especially if you have kids. You will need to get enough drinking water, non-perishable, ready-to-eat foods or snacks. If the situation allows you, you can spend more time outside of the house.
- Stay in Contact: This will require that you keep your phone’s battery alive, so you can always keep in touch with especially the power company in case there is a need for evacuation due to weather or climate condition.
How to Avoid a Outage?
- Reduce or be mindful of power usage
- Keep your trees short
- Call your country’s national call-before-you-dig number before any digging project
- Employ safety driving tips
Conclusion
Sometimes, a power outage is beyond human control. To thrive in such situations, you will need to have prepared for a case like it beforehand, have a kit in advance, another source of power (solar, generator), and most importantly, prepare your family for cases like this, especially if you have at-risk members.
That said, it is advised that as much as it is within your control, avoid activities that could lead to an outage. However, if you are in a state of an outage, the information in this article should guide you on the steps to take.
