Electric generators certainly make life easier during an extended outage. However, it’s critical for proper safety  precautions to be taken to prevent accidents that could affect you, a family member, neighbor or cooperative lineworkers.

Our line crews take necessary precautions before they work on downed power lines. But even with all the safety measures, our workers’ lives remain in your hands.

Most important is the transfer switch that disconnects the farm or home from the power line and connects it to the generator. It must be a double-throw transfer switch, which prevents the generator from feeding electricity back into the power line.

Transfer switches isolate utility power and generator power to prevent backfeeding, which can be deadly. This protects you, your neighbors and repair crews from electricity backfeeding onto power lines. This can seriously injure anyone near those lines, especially co-op crews working to restore power.

Transfer switches also protect the home from electrical fires caused by short circuits and improper connections. Transfer switches should only be installed by a qualified electrician.

Generators can be temporarily or permanently installed. A standby generator is wired directly into a house by a qualified electrician and should include a transfer switch.

For the safety of everyone, never connect a generator directly to your home’s wiring unless your home has been wired for generator use and a transfer safety switch has been installed by a professional.

Portable generators do not permanently attach to the home and can power only the appliances plugged into the generator, so consider essential electrical needs when choosing. To avoid backfeeding into the utility electrical system, the portable generator should never be plugged directly into the home.