Georgia Power is encouraging its 2.6 million customers to prepare for potential emergencies, as the company joins with emergency management partners, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency (GEMA) this September in observing National Preparedness Month.Sponsored annually by FEMA, National Preparedness Month encourages advance preparation for potential emergencies in homes, businesses and schools. 

Georgia Power reminds customers to keep safety first and take time now to prepare. The company offers the following tips to help keep families safe ahead of an emergency:

·  Build an emergency kit - Gather supplies that will last for several days for everyone living in your home. Don’t forget to consider the unique needs each person or pet may have in case you have to evacuate quickly. Check out Georgia Power’svideo about the supplies to collect to build and maintain a robust emergency kit.

·  Have an emergency plan - Talk to your friends and family about how you will communicate in an emergency. Make sure to update your plan based on the Centers for Disease Control recommendations due to the coronavirus.

·  Understand your risks - Learn more about different threats from potential emergencies around your home and business and plan appropriate responses to them.

• Before a Storm:  Know your risks of storm surge and tropical storm or hurricane strength winds. Check your emergency kit, unplug major appliances and charge cell phones in case you lose power.

• During a Storm: Have several ways to receive emergency notifications and weather updates. If your area is under an evacuation order, follow safety orders from local officials immediately.

• After a Storm: Never touch any downed or low-hanging wire, including telephone or TV wires that could touch a power line. Never pull tree limbs off power lines or enter areas with debris or downed trees as downed power lines may be buried in wreckage. Additionally, do not walk or drive through standing water as it may conceal live wires brought down by the storm.   

Before severe weather strikes, customers are encouraged to become familiar with Georgia Power’s Outage Map onwww.georgiapower.com that makes tracking and reporting outage information on the go even easier. The Outage Map automatically adjusts to function on desktops, handhelds or mobile devices and has direct access to Georgia Power’s social media channels. Additionally, users have greater search capabilities with concise alert information relating to their specific outage. 

Additional Georgia Power Tools You Can Use

• Outage Alerts: Subscribe to the free Georgia Power Outage Alert service to receive personalized notifications and updates via text message.

• Outage & Storm Center: At www.georgiapower.com/storm, customers can sign up for Outage Alerts, report and check the status of outages, and access useful safety tips and information. Customers can also report and check the status of an outage 24 hours a day by contacting Georgia Power at 888-891-0938.

• Georgia Power Mobile App: Download the Georgia Power mobile app for Apple and Android devices to access storm and outage information on the go.

• @GeorgiaPower on Twitter: Follow @GeorgiaPower on Twitter for storm tips, outage updates, customer service and more.