Safety Center

Safety is Everyone’s Business


Our members use electricity safely every day, yet we want everyone to know about the potential dangers. Importantly, we want our employees to return home safe and sound to their families every day.

OPALCO linemen are first responders for public safety. You can count on your Co-op to take care of downed lines and other power emergencies. If you see downed lines or other power emergencies, be a hero: call 911.

Did you know? Some of our power lines are energized at 69,000 volts. That is nearly 300 times more than the voltage in the wires of your home. Electricity is a part of our everyday lives and must be treated with respect.

7 Steps to Electrical Safety

Everyone should know the 7 Steps to Electrical Safety. Learn them and pass them along to your friends and coworkers. Remember, they don’t call it power for nothing!

  1. 30 feet to safety
    Stay back at least 30 feet from any fallen power line or exposed underground cable.
    NEVER try and touch or move downed power lines. Call 911 and OPALCO will respond.
  2. Look up and live
    When you work outside, look up, and check and keep equipment clear of overhead power lines.
  3. Know your limits
    When using equipment in the vicinity of power lines, always maintain the limits of approach: keep at least 10 feet back. Electricity can arc and make contact with objects and people close by.
  4. Don’t hang around operating equipment
    Stay at least 30 feet from operating equipment, in case the equipment contacts an energized line.
  5. Shuffle or hop — don’t step
    If your vehicle makes contact with an energized line, remain inside until help arrives. If you must get out due to fire, jump out with your feet together. Then shuffle away, keeping both feet close together. Never contact the ground and your vehicle at the same time.
  6. Call before you dig
    Avoid contacting underground power lines; before you dig, call 811.
  7. Don’t become a victim
    Always call 911 when someone is injured in an electrical accident. Do not touch the victim!

OPALCO is committed to a culture of safety. We take safety seriously. If you notice anything amiss, please call us at (360) 376-3500.

call us to report problems

Report an outage at any hour with a call to 376-3599 for any island

After hours, select option 1 to hear a list of known outages or select option 2 to report an outage to the Dispatch Center and OPALCO crews are alerted.
Information and updates on outages will be posted on our website and on the OPALCO voicemail as available. If asked to leave a message, please include your name, phone number and physical address. Follow us on FaceBook and subscribe to Twitter for important notifications.