At Home: Prepare in advance for power outages

For a split second, life seems to stop when the power goes out. Appliances stop humming, televisions go silent, and computers turn dark. Our lives are so connected to electricity that it is a bit disconcerting when that connection is broken.

According to Westar Energy, the most common causes of power outages in this area are failed equipment, wildlife, vegetation, and extreme weather. Senior Communication Representative Erin La Row said, Its important to note that outage causes are often related. In many cases, trees, wildlife and weather related factors may have contributed to the equipment failing. Or lightning may have caused a tree to fall onto a power line.

How long your home will be without power depends on the cause. For extreme weather outages, Westar said restoration time in the Topeka region was, on average, about 71 minutes in 2012 through 2013. For the companys entire territory, the average was 309 minutes, longer primarily because Topeka didnt experience the extreme weather events that took place in other areas.

Of course, weather disasters such as tornadoes and ice storms can cause outages that last days or weeks. La Row noted, It may be a matter of completely rebuilding parts of the electrical system. We hope these severe storms are few and far between, but these are the instances where having a storm kit and plan in place can be most beneficial.

Think Ahead

To make life easier should the power go out, plan ahead. Start by putting together a storm kit that includes:

Emergency phone numbers

A list of each family members date of birth, social security number, and medical information

Flashlight and extra batteries

A battery-powered or wind-up alarm clock

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At Home: Prepare in advance for power outages