School is out for the summer
Inland Power is my cooperative!
July 2020
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10110 W Hallett Rd. Spokane, WA 99224 MAIN OFFICE
(509) 747-7151 TOLL FREE
(800) 747-7151
Tips to help keep your kids safe this summer
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ummer is the time when everyone wants to play outside, so it is important that everyone knows the possible electrical safety hazards to avoid in the out-of-doors. Take a look around the outside of your home and go through your neighborhood with your family and show them where power poles and electrical lines are located. Explain the following so that everyone understands the dangers associated with them: •
BILLING QUESTIONS
(509) 789-4277 PAYMENT SERVICES
(855) 386-9903 ENERGY CONSERVATION AND REBATES
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(509) 789-1801 EMAIL
inlandpower@inlandpower.com
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SOCIAL
@inlandpower @inlandpowerlight •
Never play near or touch a power line with any part of your body, a toy, a stick, or any other object whatsoever. Assume at all times that any power lines you see are live and dangerous. If you see a downed power line, stay well away and report it to Inland Power immediately. Never approach an electrical substation (or downed power lines) for any reason whatsoever. Period. If a friend, family member or a pet has entered this area, do not try to rescue them yourself—call 911 immediately. Never climb on or play around a utility pole. In fact, never post any signs or flyers on utility poles either as this can endanger you and utility workers that have to work on those poles. Never throw shoes or articles of clothing up onto power lines, and never try to
inside...
Don’t let summer storms be a buzzkill
SAFETY Fourth of July safety
COMMUNITY Summertime safety
retrieve any object already hanging from a power line. There are safer ways to celebrate summer than this. •
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Never climb trees that are too close to power lines; even if the tree isn’t touching a line, the extra weight from someone climbing the tree could cause a branch to touch the line, which would be dangerous. In fact, if you feel that any trees in your yard or neighborhood are too close to power lines, talk with Inland Power about having them trimmed or possibly removed. Never try to retrieve balloons, kites or other objects from power lines or other electrical equipment. Instead, call Inland Power at (509) 789-4277. Always play with kites, model aircraft or any other airborne toys in wide open spaces like parks or fields far away from power lines. This will avoid these objects getting stuck in power lines.
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Always keep an eye on the weather. If a thunderstorm is approaching, go indoors and stay there until the danger has passed.
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Always keep electrical toys at least 10 feet away from pools or wet surfaces.
For more tips to keep your family safe this summer, visit inlandpower.com.
ENERGY Energy audits
Tips to protect your home devices
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ummer storms can be a fun sight to see. From lighting dancing across the sky to thunder rattling the walls, storms can make for an awesome spectacle. While they can be fun to watch, storms can also cause outages and damage to power lines, transformers and substations. Inland Power strives to provide safe, reliable and affordable electricity to our members. Even so, Inland Power cannot guarantee 100 percent protection against all power quality problems in your home since power quality events can occur for reasons beyond Inland Power’s control such as lightning strikes, animal damage or faulty equipment. Most of the time members will never notice these voltage disturbances, but large variations
may cause some members’ computers, household appliances, or other personal or business equipment to malfunction.
performance of electronics such as televisions, computers and networking equipment. High quality surge protectors and UPS power backup are highly recommended to avoid equipment damage and data loss.
Members should take prudent steps to protect themselves from possible power quality fluctuations. A short list of the conditions you should consider when determining proper system protections are discussed below. Please remember this list is not inclusive of all possible scenarios. •
SAG & SWELL FLUCTUATIONS — An abrupt decrease (sag), increase (swell) and longer duration fluctuations of power quality can occur at any time. Momentary sags do not generally disturb lighting, motors or heaters, but do impact the
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LOSS OF A PHASE — It is common during an outage for only one or two phases of our power line to be Story continued inside.
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affected, resulting in less than all three phases to the large equipment being energized. The loss of one or two phases to a three phase motor or pump can cause significant damage to a motor and its control system. It is the responsibility of each member to determine and install the appropriate protection equipment for their system in the event of a loss of a phase. •
OVER-VOLTAGE — There are many causes for over-voltage conditions on a power system including lightning and operations on either the distribution or transmission system during abnormal conditions. While Inland Power has surge arrestors on our high voltage system, these devices are designed to protect our equipment. These lightning arrestors are not a substitute for
– M I S S I O N S TAT E M E N T
surge protectors or similar devices designed to be installed on members’ equipment to protect against damage. •
INSURANCE — Each member should assess their need for an appropriate level of insurance coverage for their system and home.
How Can You Protect Your Home? There are two major ways to protect your equipment from surges. First, you can provide protection at the point of entry or your electrical panel. Second, you can install protection at the point of use, where electrical equipment connects to electrical outlets. A combination of point of entry and point of use protection will provide the greatest level of protection. Homeowners can find a whole home or plug in surge protectors at any local hardware or office supply store. Members
Where does your energy go? Tips to learn how your house uses its energy
should select protectors that are at least UL 1449 listed so that they meet the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) standard for protection. The lower the listing the better.
nland Power is here for you and given the challenging times we’ve all experienced the last few months, we’d like to share some information and ideas to help you save energy and money.
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which can be found at www.hes.lbl.gov/ consumer. It is important to remember that an online audit won’t be as thorough as an in-home audit.
Despite our best efforts, Inland Power cannot provide 100 percent protection against all power quality problems that you may experience in your home. Please be proactive in protecting your electronically operated equipment from the effects of power sags, swells and other possible disturbances.
Summer is a great time to conduct an energy audit of your home and identify ways to boost energy efficiency. Understanding how your home uses energy can help you determine the best ways to modify energy use and keep more money in your wallet.
If you have any questions on how to protect your home, please contact Inland Power at (509) 789-4277 or inlandpower@inlandpower.com and a member of our team will be happy to assist you.
An energy audit is one of the best ways to determine how energy efficient your home is—an audit can also identify areas for potential energy savings. We have several qualified energy auditors in our local area. Be sure to hire a professional who will conduct a thorough audit of your home. Inland Power recommends the following professional energy auditors:
Flex Pay is intended to aide in budgeting your monthly energy costs. Inland Power members can pay for electricity before it is used, then use the electricity until the credit expires. During the time period you’ve paid for, you will receive regular feedback on your balance. You can also monitor your energy usage in your SmartHub account, which can be accessed online or on your mobile device. Industry studies show that consumers who participate in prepaid metering plans use up to 10 percent less electricity.
Energy audits
• Main Sequence Energy Consulting (509) 499-0188
Surge protectors can help protect your electronics during a power surge. Not all surge protectors are created equally. Make sure to research different products that are on the market and choose the best option for your needs.
• SynerGreen (509) 315-4960
If you’d prefer to do an energy audit yourself, Inland Power recommends using the Dept. of Energy’s online audit,
Putting power in your hands
Lastly, if you have recently purchased a new ENERGY STAR®-rated appliance or product, make sure you are taking advantage of any special offers or rebates that are available. As your trusted energy advisor, we’re here to help. If you have questions about your bill or other ways to save energy, contact your energy services team at (509) 7891801 or conservation@inlandpower.com.
Average household energy consumption
Your Co-op Connection | Getting to know who works for you
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ravis Englehart has been with Inland Power since 2019. Prior to joining Inland, he worked for 12 years in health and safety at Puget Sound Energy. “Inland has wonderful people who are passionate about what they do,” Travis said. “Everyone collaborates well to provide great service to our members. I love my role because I get to help our employees make sure they get home safely and healthy each day.” Outside of work, Travis enjoys camping, fishing and spending time with his family and friends.
Travis Englehart - Safety Manager
VISIT INLANDPOWER.COM FOR MORE ENERGY EFFICIENCY TIPS
Firework safety
Stay safe this 4th of July! Fireworks and the Fourth of July go handin-hand and we want you to have a safe, fun-filled celebration! About two-thirds of all firework-related injuries occur between June 16 and July 16, so keep these safety tips in mind: • Make sure fireworks are legal in your community before using them. • Never buy professional-grade fireworks. They are not designed for safe consumer use. •
Keep small children a safe distance from all fireworks including sparklers which can burn at temperatures in excess of 2,000 degrees.
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Never reignite or handle malfunctioning fireworks. Keep a bucket of water or a garden hose nearby to thoroughly soak duds before throwing them away.
• Keep pets indoors and away from fireworks to avoid contact injuries or noise reactions.