ATLANTA, Sept. 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- As Georgia Power's storm team of more than 500 workers move from Mississippi to Louisiana to continue assisting with power restoration following Hurricane Ida, the company is encouraging its 2.6 million customers to prepare for potential emergencies here at home. The company is once again joining with emergency management partners, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency (GEMA) this September in observing National Preparedness Month.

Georgia Power is a member of the mutual assistance network. As part of this partnership, Georgia Power is able to respond and offer assistance, providing reinforcements when needed to restore power quickly for other utilities. The company is also able to tap into this mutual assistance network if additional resources are needed to help restore power to Georgia Power customers following a major storm.

While the state has already weathered several tropical storms, and September is the height of the Atlantic Hurricane Season, National Preparedness Month encourages advance preparation for all types of potential emergencies in homes, businesses and schools.

Georgia Power reminds customers to keep safety first and take time now to prepare. The company offers the following tips to help keep families safe ahead of an emergency:

• Build an emergency kit – Gather supplies that will last for several days for everyone living in your home. Don't forget to consider the unique needs each person or pet may have in case you have to evacuate quickly. Check out Georgia Power's video about the supplies to collect to build and maintain a robust emergency kit.
• Have an emergency plan – Talk to your friends and family about how you will communicate in an emergency. Make sure to update your plan based on the Centers for Disease Control recommendations due to the coronavirus.
• Understand your risks – Learn more about different threats from potential emergencies around your home and business and plan appropriate responses to them.

Severe weather can happen anytime across Georgia:

• Before a Storm: Know your risks of storm surge and tropical storm or hurricane strength winds. Check your emergency kit, unplug major appliances and charge cell phones in case you lose power.
• During a Storm: Have several ways to receive emergency notifications and weather updates. If your area is under an evacuation order, follow safety orders from local officials immediately.
• After a Storm: Never touch any downed or low-hanging wire, including telephone or TV wires that could touch a power line. Never pull tree limbs off power lines or enter areas with debris or downed trees as downed power lines may be buried in wreckage. Additionally, do not walk or drive through standing water as it may conceal live wires brought down by the storm.

Before severe weather strikes, customers are encouraged to become familiar with Georgia Power's Outage Map on www.georgiapower.com that makes tracking and reporting outage information on the go even easier. The Outage Map automatically adjusts to function on desktops, handhelds or mobile devices and has direct access to Georgia Power's social media channels. Additionally, users have greater search capabilities with concise alert information relating to their specific outage.

Additional Georgia Power Tools You Can Use

• Outage & Storm Center – Available at www.georgiapower.com/storm, customers can visit this site to sign up for Outage Alerts, report and check the status of outages, and access useful safety tips and information. Customers can report and check the status of an outage 24 hours a day by contacting Georgia Power at 888-891-0938.
• Outage Map – Housed within the Outage & Storm Center, Georgia Power's interactive Outage Map provides near real-time information, allowing users to see where outages are occurring across the state and track estimated restoration times.
• Georgia Power Mobile App – Download the Georgia Power mobile app for Apple and Android devices to access storm and outage information on the go.
• Outage Alerts – Subscribe to the free Georgia Power Outage Alert service to receive personalized notifications and updates via text message.

Infrastructure Investment – Reliability and Resiliency
The company continually invests in infrastructure to increase the day-to-day reliability of its systems and shorten outage and repair time. The company's use of Smart Grid technology and increased automation in recent years mean an increased ability to more quickly isolate outages that do occur to smaller numbers of customers and reroute power remotely for improved reliability.

In addition, Georgia Power's operational plans, systems, infrastructure and generating plants are all designed to enhance the resiliency of the network to best withstand major occurrences, such as severe weather events, including tornadoes, hurricanes and extreme heat or cold. Resiliency investments include upgrading transmission and distribution infrastructure across the power grid.

About Georgia Power
Georgia Power is the largest electric subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO), America's premier energy company. Value, Reliability, Customer Service and Stewardship are the cornerstones of the Company's promise to 2.6 million customers in all but four of Georgia's 159 counties. Committed to delivering clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy at rates below the national average, Georgia Power maintains a diverse, innovative generation mix that includes nuclear, coal and natural gas, as well as renewables such as solar, hydroelectric and wind. Georgia Power focuses on delivering world-class service to its customers every day and the Company is recognized by J.D. Power as an industry leader in customer satisfaction. For more information, visit www.GeorgiaPower.com and connect with the Company on Facebook (Facebook.com/GeorgiaPower), Twitter (Twitter.com/GeorgiaPower) and Instagram (Instagram.com/ga_power).

SOURCE Georgia Power