At your Touchstone Energy cooperative, member safety is important to us. Below are some links to important safety information to help keep you and your family safe.
Power Line Safety
Accidentally contacting a power line can be dangerous and in some cases, even deadly. Your Touchstone Energy cooperative wants to help our members stay safe around power lines.
Keep a safe distance
Whether you are playing outdoors with your children or working on landscaping projects, keep a safe distance from power lines and other equipment your co-op uses to get electricity to your home.
Always remember to:
- Stay away from power lines, meters, transformers and electrical boxes.
- Don’t climb trees near power lines.
- Never fly kits, remote control airplanes or balloons near power lines.
- If you get something stuck in a power line, call Tri-County REC at 1-800-343-2559 to get it.
- Keep a safe distance from overhead power lines when working with ladders or installing objects such as antennas.
- Never touch or go near a downed power line.
- Don’t touch anything that may be touching a downed wire, such as a car.
- Keep children and pets away.
Power Line Hazards and Cars
If a power line falls on a car, you should stay inside the vehicle. This is the safest place to stay. Warn people not to touch the car or the line. Call or ask someone to call the local cooperative and emergency services.
The only circumstance in which you should consider leaving a car that is in contact with a downed power line is if the vehicle catches on fire. Open the door. Do not step out of the car. You may receive a shock. Instead, jump free of the car so that your body clears the vehicle before touching the ground. Once you clear the car, shuffle at least 50 feet away, with both feet on the ground.
As in all power line related emergencies, call for help immediately by dialing 911 or call your electric utility company’s Service Center/Dispatch Office.
Do not try to help someone else from the car while you are standing on the ground.
Power Line Safety
Make a Plan
Use our At Home Safety Checklist to make every room in your home as safe as possible for you and your family.
What’s on the Pole?
Learn about the basic equipment found on electric utility poles. The equipment varies by location and the service provided.
Call Before You Dig
Remember to call before you plant a tree, dig a hole or put up a fence.
CALL 1-800-242-1776 BEFORE YOU DIG
PA One Call is a state wide alert system that notifies all utilities of work to be done near their underground lines. PA One Call should be called FIRST any time you plan to dig. This number can be called anytime. A seventy-two hour advance notice should be given for most work. However, PA One Call can be contacted any time for emergency purposes.
Contacting the PA One Call system relieves you of any responsibility for damage that may occur while work is being done.