We do our best to ensure you have as few service interruptions as possible, but sometimes nature and human-caused accidents may cut off your power.
If the Power Goes Off
- Check your breakers or fuses to make sure the power loss did not originate within your home. Look for tripped breakers or blown fuses. Try resetting your breakers by switching them OFF then ON.
- Call or take a look at neighboring homes to see if other homes in your area have power. This helps us pinpoint the cause of the outage.
- Call the outage hotline: 800-632-5726. Make sure you have the name on your account, your account number or meter number and the correct service address to ensure the fastest response possible.
- You can also report a power outage on your smartphone if you have download Fall River Electric’s free app “My FR App” for an iPhone or for an Android. Remember, “My FR App” is FREE!
- Turn off major appliances. The water heater and heating system breakers need to be turned off to avoid overloading your circuits when the power is restored. Unplug any voltage-sensitive equipment, like computers or televisions. Install surge protectors to protect voltage sensitive equipment.
- Switch on an outside light. This may assist our crews in determining whether or not your power has been restored.
- Keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed. Food in a refrigerator will last 12 to 24 hours if the doors are kept closed. A full freezer can last 24 to 48 hours.
- If an extended outage occurs, listen to radio reports. Keep either a battery operated or battery free (hand crank) radio on hand for emergencies.
- NEVER GO NEAR OR TOUCH A DOWNED POWER LINE.
- NEVER WIRE A PORTABLE GENERATOR DIRECTLY INTO YOUR ELECTRICAL PANEL.
Preparing For Power Outages
- Put together an outage kit that includes: a battery operated or battery free radio, several flashlights and extra batteries, a phone that does not require electricity.
- Install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and test them regularly.
- Visit Ready.gov Winter Weather Tips to learn more about keeping yourself and your family safe during winter storms.