As the monsoon season continues to hit the Valley, Salt River Project is prepared to handle the heat and storms. SRP’s transmission, distribution, generation and planned energy purchases are equipped to serve the increased summer demand and summer monsoons.
SRP plans for the summer heat and storms throughout the year by maintaining its transmission and distribution systems to ensure reliability. Summer preparedness also includes preventative maintenance, tree trimming, pole reinforcement, cable replacement and storm planning for additional crews. Other projects include:
• SRP replaced approximately 2,000 wooden poles throughout the year to ensure reliability.
• At SRP, equipment and maintenance schedules are built around the high temperatures of the desert. For example, large power transformers are equipped with cooling systems that are designed to safely protect these devices during extreme temperatures.
• The SRP mobile substation will be on standby to assist with any power needs that could come about from unexpected outages. The large mobile unit has the ability to replace a distribution transformer should it need to be replaced or repaired, and is in addition to six existing mobile substations standing ready for summer duty.
• SRP alerts residential customers via email when their home is in an area where an outage has occurred as well as when the power has been restored. Customers can also sign up to receive outage notifications via text by calling SRP’s customer service center at (602) 236-8888 or through My Account, SRP’s online account management tool.
• The SRP outage map – which provides details such as outage locations, how many customers are impacted, the outage start time, cause and the estimated time of restoration – is available on the web and on mobile devices at www.srpnet.com/outages.
• For real-time updates, get connected, and follow @SRPconnect on Twitter or “like” SRP’s Facebook page at facebook.com/srpconnect. SRP customer service representatives can also be reached any time at (602) 236-8888.
• Download the free SRP Mobile App to get a snapshot of energy costs and daily usage; view balances and make payments as well as report or view outage information and get estimated restoration times.
SRP would like to remind Valley residents to follow these summer safety tips:
• Be sure to fully charge mobile devices and tablets in case of an outage. Also, have flashlights, a battery-operated radio and a phone readily accessible, and check to make sure the batteries are good.
• Maintain a first-aid kit that includes your family’s prescription medications. Make sure items in the first-aid kit are in usable condition.
• Try to remain indoors during a storm. If caught outdoors, stay at least 100 feet from any downed power lines.
• Never try to help someone trapped by a power line. The line could be energized and endanger your own safety. Instead, immediately call 911 for help. Then call SRP’s emergency number, (602) 236-8811, to report the incident.
• If a power line hits your car while you are in it, stay inside the car until professional help arrives. If your vehicle catches fire and you must leave it, avoid making contact with the vehicle and the ground at the same time. Jump from the vehicle, landing with both feet together. Shuffle or hop away, keeping both feet in contact with each other until you are at least 100 feet from the vehicle. This may avoid making your body a ground path between energized and grounded areas or objects.
• Do not swim during a storm. Lightning can strike bodies of water.
For more tips, visit www.srpnet.com/storm.
SRP is a community-based, not-for-profit public power utility and the largest provider of electricity in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area, serving more than 1 million customers. SRP also is the metropolitan area’s largest supplier of water, delivering about 800,000 acre-feet annually to agricultural, urban and municipal water users.
