The holiday season is less than one week away. Georgia Power encourages its customers to practice safety around electricity with holiday lighting and decorations. Below are some useful tips to help customers play it safe this holiday season.

Do not overload circuits. Plugging too many lights into one outlet, or several outlets on the same circuit, overloads the circuit and can cause a fire.

Use only lights and decorations that carry the UL approval.

Use lights in their proper place; if lights are not designated for outdoor use, do not put them there.

Make sure that all outdoor circuits have “ground fault interruption” outlets or breakers. These prevent shock or electrocution in damp or wet conditions.

Do not string lights in damp or wet conditions.

Do not leave lights on the ground in areas that are prone to flooding.

Do not use frayed or damaged cords.

Do not run cords under rugs, carpet, or place near curtains.

Put timers on outdoor lights.

Do not leave lights on – especially on natural indoor Christmas trees – when no one is home.

Water natural trees daily.

Do not place natural trees under or over a heating vent. Doing so could cause the tree to dry out and possibly catch on fire.

For more information on electric safety, visit our web site at www.georgiapower.com.