Prepare for an Outage

A quick overview of how to

Prepare for a Power Outage

The leading cause of unplanned power outages is weather. Heavy storms can cause multiple power outages in different areas. Outages can also be caused by trees or wildlife contacting the lines.

While Blue Mountain Power Co-op works throughout the year to proactively minimize the duration and impacts of power outages, it can be difficult to predict how long they may last. Power outages can occur at any time, which is why it is critical to prepare for outages, both planned and unplanned.

How to prepare

Before an Outage

  1. Update your contact information with us to ensure we can always reach you in case of planned or unplanned outages, including your current phone numbers and email address.
  2. List all important local phone numbers and include numbers for police, fire, poison control, family members, neighbours, and of course Blue Mountain Power Co-op. Keep a printed and digital copy in multiple areas of your home/office, in your emergency kit, and on your phone.
  3. Know how to check for a tripped breaker in the breaker panel inside your home and outside at the utility meter or breaker box.
  4. Develop an emergency preparedness plan that considers your personal, farm, or business needs. Put together a 72-Hour emergency kit and check emergency equipment function and supply levels periodically. Visit getprepared.gc.ca for more information.
  5. Plan for health conditions if you or someone in your household relies on life-sustaining equipment, take additional steps to prepare for an outage. Have a reliable backup power source for short outages or stay with a family member or friend for extended outages.
  6. Invest in surge protectors for electronic devices such as computers, printers, and televisions. Surge Protectors help protect your devices when the power comes back on.
What to do

During an Outage

If you are experiencing an unexpected disruption to power, please do the following:

  1. Reset your breaker. The power loss may be a tripped circuit breaker. Simply reset your electrical panel or fuse box, which is either located in your home or near your property's transformer pole.
  2. Check the outage list. Check our list of planned and unplanned outages to see if there is a known power outage in your area. If your outage isn't listed, or you have additional information, please report it.
  3. Report an outage. Call Blue Mountain Power Co-op at 310-POWR (7697) to report your outage. The more details you provide us, the better. Be sure to have your Land Location or Account Number ready.
Safety Tips
  1. Minimize how often you open refrigerators and freezers. Place food on ice in a cooler or bags of ice in the fridge. Cover the freezer with blankets to further insulate the freezer and help keep food frozen longer.
  2. Never use propane/kerosene heat sources indoors. This includes camp stoves, barbecues, or heaters, as carbon monoxide build-up in closed areas can lead to sickness or death.
  3. Don’t plug portable generators into electrical outlets. Doing this is highly dangerous and can create hazardous situations for utility workers and neighbours.
  4. Stay away from downed lines. Assume all damaged or fallen power lines are ‘live’. Stay at least 10 metres, about one bus length, away and do not attempt to remove debris around the power line. Call Blue Mountain Power Co-op to report the downed line. Be sure to have your Land Location or Account Number ready when you call.
What to do

After an Outage

  1. Turn on essential appliances and then wait 15 minutes before turning on other appliances. This gives our electrical system a chance to stabilize.
  2. Confirm your refrigerator and freezer are back on and determine if anything needs to be thrown away.
  3. Reset and restock. Reset clocks, alarms, and timers. Restock any supplies taken from your emergency kit.

Recent Announcements

Members are free to purchase electricity services from a retailer of their choice.
For a list of retailers, visit ucahelps.alberta.ca or call 310-4822 (toll free in Alberta).