AES Indiana, a subsidiary of The AES Corporation (NYSE: AES), is encouraging customers to plan in advance for severe thunderstorms and tornadoes, during Severe Weather Awareness Week, March 13 -19. Severe weather knows no boundaries and can impact every individual throughout the Hoosier state.
The goal of Severe Weather Preparedness Week is to better educate people about the hazards of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes, and to help everyone be prepared when severe weather occurs.
What can AES Indiana customers do during Severe Weather Awareness Week?
- Build a Storm Kit: Make sure you gather enough essentials for at least 72 hours and include items such as necessary medicines, water, nonperishable food, flashlight, first aid items, spare clothing, phone chargers, battery-operated radio and extra batteries. Be sure each member of the household or work location knows where the emergency storm kit is located.
- Make an Emergency Plan: Have a plan to move yourself and your family – especially those with special medical needs – to an alternate location. Each person in your household should know where to meet, how to contact each other and what to do in different scenarios.
- Stay informed: Bookmark AES Indiana’s Outage Info Center on your mobile device for quick and easy access to report outages, check your status, and view our new Outage Map. When power outages occur, AES Indiana provides customers real-time outage information through the online outage map to help customers make critical decisions. Follow AES Indiana on Twitter for real-time outage updates.
- Be safe around power lines: Put safety first, and never touch or go near a downed power line. Always assume it is energized and stay away. Report a downed power line online or call 317-261-8111.
If your power does go out, AES Indiana offers these tips:
- Turn off all appliances, including your furnace, space heaters, water heater and water pump. Leave on one lamp to know when power has been restored.
- Keep freezer and refrigerator doors closed. Food will stay frozen for 36 to 48 hours in a fully loaded freezer if you keep the door closed. A half-full freezer will generally keep food frozen for 24 hours.
- Open your blinds during the day, cover windows with drapes at night and gather in a central room where there is an alternative heat source, such as a fireplace. Provide ample ventilation and ensure plenty of distance from your home or work when using portable generators.
- If the indoor temperature drops to 55 degrees Fahrenheit or below, open your faucets slightly so they constantly drip to prevent pipes from freezing.
For more information about staying safe during severe weather events, visit aesindiana.com/safety-tips.
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About AES Indiana
AES Indiana, an AES Company, provides retail electric service to more than 500,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in Indianapolis, as well as portions of other Central Indiana communities surrounding Marion County. During its long history, AES Indiana has supplied its customers with some of the lowest-cost, most reliable power in the country. For more information about the company, please Connect with AES Indiana on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. For more information about how AES Indiana is accelerating the future of energy, visit aesindiana.com/hellofuture.