Electricity always travels in a circuit, and when you switch on an appliance, you complete a circuit for electricity to travel. It travels along power lines to your home, through the wiring to the outlet, through the power cord to the appliance, then back through the cord, the outlet, the household wiring, and back to the power lines.

During all these travels, electricity seeks the path of least resistance. If wiring and power cords are properly insulated, the path of least resistance is the copper conductor in the wiring. If that insulation is cracked or frayed, the electricity may find an easier path to ground.

Water is an excellent conductor of electricity, forming a path with very little resistance. That’s why water and electricity can be a dangerous combination, and why it’s important to keep them apart.

It’s also good to remember that human beings are composed of about 70% water. So keep your electrical appliances and wiring in safe operating condition.

Overloaded equipment and overheated circuits cause most electrical fires. Electrical fires can also be caused when accumulated oil and dirt overheat a motor, or when a spark ignites scraps, dirt, dust, or flammable liquids.

When too much electrical current flows into a circuit, fuses or circuit breakers will "open" or interrupt the flow of electricity. This helps prevent damage to appliances, damage to household wiring, and electrical fires.

When a circuit breaker trips, or a fuse is blown, it’s a warning that something is wrong. Either you have too many appliances operating on that circuit, or one of the appliances is malfunctioning. Disconnect the appliances on that circuit before resetting the breaker or replacing the fuse. If the circuit breaks again while you’re reconnecting those appliances, you’ll know which one is causing the problem. (NOTE: Be sure to replace any blown fuse with one of the right amperage. Using the wrong size can cause fires.)

GFCI’s are used primarily where water may come in contact with electricity, such as in bathrooms, kitchens, garages and outdoors. GFCI outlets have "test" and "reset" buttons, and it’s a good idea to test them regularly.

If something doesn’t work properly in this three-step test, have the GFCI checked or replaced.

To avoid damage, remove cords from outlets by pulling the plug, not the cord itself. Never attach a cord to any surface with nails or staples, which can break the insulation. Also, twisting, kinking, bending, or walking on cords can harm them.

Never remove the third prong from a three-pronged plug. The third prong is there to safely ground your electrical appliance. Most power tools and major appliances have three-pronged plugs for safety. If you don’t have three-hole outlets, adapters are available at most hardware and department stores.

Teach children to never put fingers or objects into electric appliances. If you have small children, put plastic safety caps in all unused wall outlets to prevent them from pushing objects into the outlet openings.

Use extension cords that are sufficiently rated for the application. Most extension cords should use 16-gauge or thicker wire. (The smaller the gauge number, the thicker the wire.) Don’t run cords under carpeting or furniture, or in high-traffic areas.

Extension cords with Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCIs) are available, too, and should be use in potentially wet situations.

Most customers just run an extension cord from the generator to whichever individual appliance they wish to run. This works well if you don’t need to run a lot of things at the same time. Just make sure that you use a heavy-duty, grounded extension cord.

During a power outage, you can use a generator to power your freezer for a few hours, two or three times a day. This will usually keep the food frozen if you don’t open the freezer much. For the rest of the time, the generator can be used to power lights, to run a space heater, to do some cooking, or whatever else you choose.

With a larger generator, you can power things in your home directly through your household distribution panel (breaker box). You then control which items are actually powered by simply turning the breakers off or on.

But this can be dangerous. Electricity can be sent back out through the meter base and into the neighborhood distribution lines. That can be extremely dangerous if we have crews working on those lines.

It’s very important that the power produced by your generator be isolated from the neighborhood distribution system. The best way to accomplish this is with what’s called a "Double Pole, Double Throw" transfer switch. This means simply that when your generator is powering your home, that circuit is physically separated from the outside power lines. When the switch is thrown to connect with the outside power lines, it disconnects from the generator.

It’s important that safety be built into the system at the beginning. Decide what your real electrical requirements are, and select the appropriate generator. If you’re going to run your generator through your home’s wiring system, an electrical permit is required, and you should get a licensed electrician to help.

And don’t run your generator in an enclosed space. The exhaust fumes can be toxic. You should have a smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector if using a generator near any living areas.

Power fluctuations can be caused by things outside your home like lightning, tree branches hitting power lines during high winds, vehicles hitting power poles, etc.

But fully 70% of all power fluctuations are caused by things inside your home. Things like the routine cycling of refrigerator motors, and the use of vacuum cleaners, hair dryers, mixers and hand tools.

Whatever you call them, and whatever causes them, these fluctuations can cause sometimes irreparable damage to sensitive electronic equipment like home computers, VCRs, CD players, digital clocks and microwave ovens.

The best way to protect these types of equipment from damage is to install power protection equipment.

Power protection equipment comes in a variety of sizes and shapes for a variety of different applications. It’s important to get the proper type of protection for the appliances you want to protect.

For instance, it wouldn’t make sense to protect a $20 coffee pot with a $70 surge protector. By the same token, you’d probably want something more than a $3 surge protector for your $5,000 home computer system.

And remember that surge protectors don’t last forever. They’re designed to take the electrical hit, instead of your appliance, and quite often they die in the process. Better ones will take more hits, but it’s always a good idea to get one with a diagnostic light that tells you it’s working properly.

If you decide to purchase power protection equipment, here are the things you should look for:

If the surge protection equipment you purchase comes with a guarantee, make sure you keep all the necessary paperwork.

What we can do:

Electric-powered mowers and other tools should not be used in the rain, on wet grass, or in wet conditions. Inspect power tools and electric lawn mowers before each use for frayed power cords, broken plugs, and cracked or broken housings. If damaged, stop using the item immediately, and repair or replace it.

Remember to unplug all portable power tools when not in use.

A $150 fee will be charged when tampering is confirmed. The offender will also be responsible for any service illegally used, and the cost of any necessary repairs to utility equipment.

If utility equipment has been tampered with, or if electricity service is considered unsafe, that service may be disconnected without notice.

If a person comes in contact with a power line, don’t touch the person or the line! Call 911 immediately. (It is possible to separate the power line from the person, with a long, dry, non-conducting object such as a wood broom handle, but this is extremely dangerous. It should only be done by a person who is experienced with electricity, and only if emergency assistance is not immediately available.)

If a power line falls on your car while you’re driving, stay in the car! If you can drive the car out from under the wire, do so at once. If you must leave the vehicle for safety reasons, jump clear. Do not touch the vehicle and the ground at the same time. Keep both feet together, and hop until you’re clear of the energized area.

Don’t attempt to cut any trees or branches that have fallen on power lines, unless a Central Lincoln PUD service person tells you it is safe to do so.

It isn’t unusual to find dozens of nails, staples, screws, and other fasteners stuck into our power poles at about eye level. Those fasteners often protrude, and they can be very hazardous if our employees need to climb the pole.

In addition, all those punctures in the pole allow moisture, bugs, and rot to affect the integrity of the poles. Those punctures can significantly reduce the expected lifespan of the pole.

So please, if you find you need to place a sign for some event, find a safer alternative than our power poles.

We’d also like to remind you about foil balloons. Never release a foil balloon into the air, whether you’re near overhead power lines or not. Balloons can drift for miles, then come in contact with power lines causing outages or damage to electrical equipment, often resulting in fires.

If you do lose a foil balloon in overhead power lines, treat it exactly the way you’d treat a tangled kite: Don’t try to free it yourself! Call the PUD immediately for help.

That means that motorists may sometimes need to cross into the other lane of traffic to safely pass the worksite. And that’s why it’s very, very important that motorists slow down and proceed with caution when they see the flashing lights of the PUD trucks, or any other emergency vehicles. Thanks in advance for your cooperation!

This equipment can wear out over time, become damaged by tree limbs, ladders, etc., or corrode due to our coastal climate.

The equipment you should check includes the meter base, the service mast and the weatherhead. (Customers whose homes are served by underground lines will not have a weatherhead or service mast, but will have the meter base.)

In the diagram at right, the shaded area shows you which equipment belongs to you, not the PUD, and is yours to maintain.

Checking your electrical service equipment is very easy. Just walk over to your electric meter and look for the following:

While this equipment is built for the outdoors, repair and replacement are sometimes necessary. Maintenance of your outdoor electrical equipment is important, so take the time to look it over carefully.

If you notice any of these signs, or if you think there may be a problem with the equipment, contact your local PUD office for information, or a licensed electrician for assistance.

Our meter readers and servicemen need to get to that equipment from time to time, either to take a reading, to repair, to upgrade, to remove, or to replace defective equipment.

So when you’re landscaping your property, please remember that our people need ready access to our electrical equipment that’s on your property. That includes meters, transformers, poles, etc.

Any trees planted in the utility right-of-way, or service area from that right-of-way to your home, must be very low-growing so they won’t interfere with power lines. If your tree encroaches into the PUD right-of-way, it is your responsibility to keep it trimmed away from power lines. In some cases, the PUD may be forced to remove a tree that presents a danger to electric reliability.

In addition to electrical cables, there are many other types of utility equipment that are routinely buried underground. Telephone lines, cable television lines, gas lines and water distribution pipes are among the most common.

Most utilities in our area belong to a toll-free one-call service that can tell you if anything is buried in your area. The number is 1-800-332-2344, and you should call at least 48 hours before you plan to start work. (NOTE: A few local water districts do not belong to this service, so you may need to give them a call, too.) Please remember that this service is usually limited to rights-of-way and roadways, and does not include any utilities buried on the homeowners property.

If you do uncover an underground electrical cable, don’t try to move it or work around it! Please call your local Central Lincoln PUD office immediately for assistance.

Don’t climb power poles or transmission structures. Overhead wires carry high voltage and can kill on contact.

Children should be taught the same rules as adults about avoiding power lines, transformers (either pole-mounted or pad-mounted), substations, and other electrical equipment. Learning to recognize "Warning: High Voltage" signs will keep them away from potential trouble.

Fiber optic cables are usually from 1/4 to 3/4 inch in diameter, with black insulation, and have multi-colored plastic buffer tubes inside, lined with glass threads. The outside insulation often has orange identifying bands or markings. If you see a fiber optic cable broken or on the ground, don’t touch it!