NEWARK, Del. (May 4, 2016) - May is National Electrical Safety Month and Delmarva Power would like to share the following tips to help keep you safe when working with or around electricity.

"Spring creates great opportunities to work and play outdoors," said Gary Stockbridge, Delmarva Power region president. "We ask that you take the time to follow and share these simple Electric Safety Month tips as well as making safety an important beginning and end to every day."

• If you see a downed wire, stay away and call the Delmarva Power emergency outage number, 1-800-898-8042. Assume all downed wires are energized.
• Before digging, call 811, the national One Call Notification System number, so any utility lines can be marked before construction.
• Educate children so they know the importance of staying away from electric facilities such as substations, transmission towers and pad-mounted transformers, also known as green boxes.
• Know your overhead surroundings before starting a project. When carrying long or tall items, such as ladders, tree saws and pool cleaning equipment, hold them parallel to the ground.  Remember that electricity can move through conductive materials, such as water, metal, wood, aluminum, string and plastics.
• Stay away from overhead lines. Be watchful when trimming trees or working near the electrical connection to your property.

Find additional information about Delmarva Power by visiting www.delmarva.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/delmarvapower and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/delmarvaconnect. Our mobile app is available at www.delmarva.com/mobileapp.