Switching your attention to safety

May is National Electrical Safety Month and the Grand River Dam Authority continues to take this opportunity to share the safety message. This week, we want to focus on something we all use almost every day: light switches. 

Although we use them daily most of us probably do not give much thought to the switch. The truth is the light switch plays an important role in our home’s overall electrical system and needs to be in proper working order. Because of that, we wanted to pass along some switch-related warning signs from the Electric Safety Foundation International (esfi.org) that you should not take lightly:

• If the home is more than 40 years old, has aluminum wiring but has not recently undergone a safety inspection by a qualified electrician.
• If lights get dimmer or brighter when other appliances turn on or off.
• If you’ve experienced a shock when operating a switch.
• If the switch leans to one side or feels loose when operating.
• If you detect an odor when a switch is used.
• If the wall plate is hot to the touch.
• If there is discoloration of the switch or around the switch plate.
• If lights dim or flicker without cause.
• If you hear crackling, popping or buzzing from your outlet.
• If breakers or fuses often trip or blow when the switch is turned on.

If you have experienced any of these things with your light switches, please have your home electrical system inspected by a qualified electrician as soon as possible. Your friends at GRDA want you to stay safe.

GRDA is Oklahoma’s largest public power electric utility; fully funded by revenues from electric and water sales instead of taxes. Each day, GRDA strives to be an “Oklahoma agency of excellence” by focusing on the 5 E’s: electricity, economic development, environmental stewardship, employees, and efficiency.

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