The following is a press release from the Borough of Middletown, Dauphin County:
“Electric power on a major circuit in the Borough of Middletown will be shut down briefly Saturday (12-20-14) morning to allow crews to make emergency repairs to bowed cross arm which is in danger of breaking and causing a primary line to fall, causing a much wider outage.
“Crews will need to shut down a circuit that centers on Emaus and South Catherine streets in order to make the repairs. The outage will begin at 8 a.m. and is expected to last a few hours.
“The outage will include most of Emaus and Catherine streets, the far south end of Union Street, and spurs off of that main circuit. A map showing the impacted area can be view on the Borough’s web site at www.middletownborough.com.
“Originally plans called for the repairs to be done next week. But a follow up inspection on Friday determined the cross arm had deteriorated, raising concerns it could fail before being repaired, causing a longer, more widespread outage. Those concerns were heightened by weather forecasts which are calling for possible stormy conditions early next week.
“Here are some tips to help ensure safety during any power outage and to prevent damage to sensitive electronic equipment due to the outage or the restoration of power:
- Never run a generator in your home, basement, or other indoor space where exhaust fumes may accumulate.
- Do not use gas ovens or ranges to heat your home.
- Turn off electric ovens, ranges or space heaters that may have been in use when the outage occurred.
- Unplug sensitive home electronics that can suffer damage when power is restored.
- Avoid candles and use flashlights instead. Candles can cause a fire if tipped by animals or people, or if they come in contact with a combustible item.
- Keep warm air in during winter by using doors as infrequently as possible. This includes closing your garage door.
- Close off unoccupied rooms.
- Keep your refrigerator or freezer closed as much as possible.
- Use surge protectors to help protect your appliances and electronics. Keep in mind that not all power strips are surge suppressors, and different surge suppressors provide different protection.”
