Georgia Power offers tools and resources to help customers during summer heat wave and safety tips to prepare for severe weather

ATLANTA, Aug. 19, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- With temperatures in Georgia surpassing 60 days above 90 degrees since May and with severe thunderstorms in the forecast for this week, Georgia Power is reminding customers of a number of tools to keep safety first and help reduce the impact of the hot weather on power bills.

As part of continued efforts to help customers save energy and money and to prepare for severe weather year-round, the company has made it easy to find energy efficiency solutions and safety tips at www.GeorgiaPower.com.

Tips, Tools & Resources for Energy Efficiency
Georgia Power offers tips, tools and resources that can help all customers save money and energy during the heat of summer, and when severe weather strikes.

Hundreds of useful tips, whether you own a home or rent, are available at www.GeorgiaPower.com/Save:

    --  Do not leave electronics on - Turn off televisions, computers and other
        electronic devices when not in use.
    --  Protect appliances with SurgeDefender - Georgia Power offers a
        state-of-the-art product, SurgeDefender, to single-family homeowners
        including individually metered, owned townhouses and condominiums to
        help protect motor-driven appliances such as refrigerator, HVAC,
        washer/dryer from power surges entering on the electric lines.
    --  Install storm doors - A storm door creates a pocket of insulated air
        space between itself and your house's exterior door. This reduces heat
        transfer into and out of your home, lowering heating and cooling costs.
    --  Only use surge protectors with internal circuit breakers - These units
        will trip the breaker if the power strip is overloaded and shorted to
        prevent overheating.
    --  Focus on the fridge - Proper cleaning and maintenance of the
        refrigerator, such as dusting the dirt from the refrigerator coils and
        removing food to allow air to circulate, can reduce its energy
        consumption.

Tips & Resources for Severe Weather Preparation:
With temperatures continuing to rise above 90 degrees, the National Weather Service is forecasting severe weather this week. Georgia Power reminds customers to keep safety first during a storm and offers the following videos and tools to prepare for severe weather year-round:

    --  Outage Alerts - Subscribe to the free Georgia Power Outage Alert service
        to receive personalized notifications and updates via text message.
    --  Build an Emergency Kit - A well-built kit should contain enough supplies
        to get you and your family through three days without electricity or
        running water.
    --  Power Restoration Process - Georgia Power crews focus on repairs that
        return power to the greatest number of customers in the least amount of
        time.
    --  Assessing Conditions - Before restoration crews can get to work, damage
        assessment teams identify trouble spots and the resources needed to fix
        it.
    --  Downed Tree Safety - Downed trees are usually the cause of an outage
        after a storm. Never attempt to pull tree limbs off wires yourself.
    --  Generator Safety - Never use generators in an enclosed space. They
        produce dangerous carbon monoxide that can't be seen or smelled.
    --  Storing Food and Medicine in an Outage - During an outage, it's
        important to know how to safely store your food and medicine.

Georgia Power constantly monitors changing weather conditions and remains prepared to respond to any service interruptions that might occur because of severe weather. Customers can subscribe to Georgia Power's YouTube Storm Channel for the latest safety videos and can connect with Georgia Power on Facebook and Twitter for helpful information every day, and restoration updates during severe weather.

Customer Resources No Matter the Season
Regardless of the season or the weather, Georgia Power encourages customers to take advantage of these resources to save money and energy throughout the year:

    --  Take an online energy checkup - Georgia Power's quick and easy online
        energy checkup provides a customized report to help you understand your
        energy use and find ways to save money. Energy Checkup can use your
        actual power bills to give you a customized report. Just enter
        information about your home and family to measure how you use energy.
    --  Conduct a rate plan review: Georgia Power offers a variety of flexible
        and customizable rate plans to fit every lifestyle. Ensuring that you
        are on the most economical rate plan for your use is one of the most
        effective ways to keep your energy costs low. Customers can explore
        Georgia Power rate plans here and at www.GeorgiaPower.com/Pricing.
    --  Bill payment assistance: Georgia Power works with customers to
        coordinate payment arrangements and discounts such as the Low-Income
        Senior Citizens Discount, and can connect them with community
        organizations that may be able to help them pay their bill including The
        Salvation Army's Project SHARE program. Additional information is
        available at www.GeorgiaPower.com/Assistance or via phone at
        888-660-5890.

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 consistently recognized by J.D. Power and Associates 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).

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/georgia-power-offers-tools-and-resources-to-help-customers-during-summer-heat-wave-and-safety-tips-to-prepare-for-severe-weather-300903889.html

SOURCE Georgia Power