LPEA urges lightning safety during summer storm season

Electric cooperative on alert to institute repairs when lightning strikes the system

 

DURANGO, Colo. – While La Plata Electric Association (LPEA) is dedicated to “keeping the lights on” for its member-customers in La Plata and Archuleta counties, Mother Nature offers a challenge over which the electric cooperative has little control – lightning.

            Lightning, which is prevalent in Southwest Colorado during the summer monsoon season, is recognized as an underrated killer of humans and animals, but it can also wreck havoc with electrical systems in and outside of LPEA’s customers’ businesses and homes. A variety of precautions can and should be observed when “thunder roars.”

            “Where heavy, wet snow causes the majority of LPEA’s outages during the winter months, lightning strikes tend to be our challenge for the rest of the year,” said Steve Gregg, LPEA manager of operations. “We can’t control where lightning will strike, but we can help you learn how to protect yourself, your animals and your electrical equipment.”

            LPEA offers “socket arrestors” as a first line of defense against power surges and spikes. The equipment is installed between the electric meter and the house, protecting the home from electric power line surges by attempting to send them to the ground before they reach the home.

“No piece of equipment can offer 100 percent protection,” said Gregg. “But the socket arrester offers a high level of protection at an affordable cost against the most common causes of destructive surges.”

Lightning can strike as far as 10 miles from the obvious storm area, which is about how far thunder is audible to the human ear. Thus is the basis for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s slogan, “When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors.”

            Each spark of lightning can stretch in excess of five miles in length, reach temperatures of some 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit and contain 100 million electrical volts. If outside, seek a “safe” building – one that is fully enclosed with a roof, walls and floor, and has plumbing or wiring with a ground system bonded to the piping and earth grounds. Lightning always seeks the ground, so if it should happen to strike a building with electricity or plumbing, the current will typically travel through the wiring or plumbing and then into the ground.

            “So if you’re on a corded phone, or washing dishes, for example, you’re directly connected to the lightning’s potential conductor,” said Mark Schwantes, LPEA manager of corporate services. “The human body is up to 60 percent water, which makes it a perfect conductor for electricity.”

To avoid being struck by lightning, the National Weather Service recommends:

§  Get into a fully-enclosed building or hardtop vehicle at the first rumble of thunder;

§  Stay indoors for 30 minutes after the last thunder clap;

§  Monitor the weather forecast when planning to be outdoors;

§  Have a plan for getting to safety in case a thunderstorm moves in;

§  Do not use a corded phone during a thunderstorm unless it’s an emergency; cell phones are safe to use;

§  Keep away from plumbing, electrical equipment and wiring during a thunderstorm.

LPEA, a Touchstone Energy Cooperative, provides to its more than 30,000 members with in excess of 43,000 meters, safe, reliable electricity at the lowest reasonable cost, while being environmentally responsible. For additional information on the socket arrestor, contact LPEA at 970.247.5786.