Meralco issues safety reminders for flooded areas

Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), Metro Manila's lone electricity distributor, issued customer safety reminders as it begins to restore power in nearly all of its service areas, including locations which were previously under water. Besides asking customers to "exercise caution before plugging and turning on their appliances," the Philippines' largest electric company also told power users to seek advice from licensed electrical practitioners if it would already be safe to run power back on, the company said in a statement. It also came out with a list of precautionary measures for households which have been recently submerged in floods, including the following:

• 1) Make sure that the main electrical power switch or circuit breaker is turned off. When you need to touch a switch and the floor is still wet, stand on dry board or carton or wear rubber sole boots. Use a dry stick or rubber gloves, or well-insulated pliers or tools to pull handles;
• 2) Unplug all equipment and appliances. Turn off the switch of permanently connected equipment. Unscrew all light bulbs if possible;
• 3) Remove mud and dirt from the service equipment or main circuit breaker/fuse and its enclosure with rubber gloves and rubber sole shoes;
• 4) Allow electrical wires, connectors and other wiring devices to dry completely. Drying may take days, depending on how wet the system is and on external temperature;
• 5) When all electrical wires and accessories are dry and clean, the wiring system must be checked, and;
• 6) The appliance itself must be completely dry, serviced or checked by a licensed electrician. Do not turn on damaged electrical appliances. - GMANews.TV