APS encourages customers to join in monsoon prep
To live in Yuma County is to know the heat of summer. To live in Arizona is to know the power of a monsoon.
For us at APS, a monsoon can seem like Mother Nature’s dare to try and keep the power on through lashing rain, dangerous lightning and high winds. Our crews are up for the challenge because they spend most of the year preparing for the combination of excessive heat and monsoon storms that characterize our summers.
Summer is our season, and we are committed to delivering reliable power to our customers in some of the toughest weather conditions.
Throughout the year, our crews use the latest technology to perform predictive maintenance. Similar to regular maintenance on your car to prevent a breakdown, this work is about detecting and addressing issues before they can cause outages. For example, our infrared cameras help to identify equipment that may be at higher risk of failing, allowing us to switch it out before it becomes a problem.
We are also using drones to fly over the lines to see if poles or wires should be proactively replaced. (Never try this at home – be sure to fly recreational drones well away from power lines!) And every spring, APS crews preassemble extra poles and wires in our maintenance yards so they’re ready to use quickly if needed after a big storm.
Even with the best of planning, sometimes Mother Nature hits our equipment hard, and that’s when our employees truly shine. Our troublemen are on-call 24/7 to respond to outages and determine the safest and fastest way to restore power. In addition to our amazing line crews here in Yuma, crews around the state are always at the ready if we need them.
Likewise, my community affairs teammates in Casa Grande, Prescott, Flagstaff and Phoenix are ready to help me coordinate and communicate with customers and, when needed, partners like first responders and community agencies that support power restoration and heat relief efforts. These strong working relationships throughout Yuma County help us keep customers and employees safe, especially when responding to emergencies.
Of course, safety starts with you, and we want to offer some important tips and reminders this monsoon season:
Be prepared: Assembling a storm emergency kit in advance helps ensure your safety. Non-perishable food, water, car chargers for cellphones, flashlights, extra batteries and any necessary medications are important items to keep on hand in a pre-designated spot for easy access during an outage.
Stay away from all downed lines: Always treat any downed line as if it is energized and stay at least 100 feet away. If your vehicle comes into contact with a downed power line, stay inside your vehicle, remain calm, call 911 and then call APS at (855)-6882437 (855-OUTAGES).
Stay connected: Sign up for outage alerts at aps.com and download the APS app for Android and iPhone users. The app features APS social media feeds, a tool for reporting an outage and an outage map, which provides the location, status and our best estimate for when power will be restored.
So let APS take that dare from Mother Nature while you focus on being ready before a monsoon strikes and keeping safe when it does. We’ll be hard at work to keep the power on, but if Mother Nature wins a round, we’ll also strive to keep you informed during outages.
Until we’re on the other side of this monsoon season, stay prepared, safe and connected!