May 21, 2004
ROSEMEAD, Calif., May 21, 2004—With summer right around the corner, Southern California Edison (SCE) is reminding its customers to be safe around electricity while enjoying outdoor activities around the pool.
“Electricity is indispensable to our everyday lives. But it can also be dangerous, especially around a pool because the combination of water and electricity can be deadly,” said SCE Manager of Consumer Affairs Suzanne Middelburg.
Middelburg urges customers to follow these important tips to keep families safe this season:
- If you have a swimming pool or spa, never use extension cords nearby – if they’re plugged in and get wet, electrocution may occur.
- When cleaning a pool with a long-handled pool skimmer, look up and make sure you are nowhere near a power line. Contact with a power line will cause serious injury or death. Always use fiberglass pool skimming equipment instead of metal-handled equipment around your pool.
- All metal equipment in a pool – ladders, diving platforms, etc., must be electrically grounded.
- Make sure the power supply circuit for each piece of pool equipment (underwater lights, deck lights, circulating pump motor, etc.) includes a Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI). A properly working GFCI will sense an electrical short and disconnect the power supply.
- All pool electrical equipment and wiring must meet local and national electrical codes. Check with your pool builder or professional electrician to verify that electrical standards have been met.
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An Edison International (NYSE:EIX) company, Southern California Edison is one of the nation’s largest electric utilities, serving a population of more than 12 million via 4.6 million customer accounts in a 50,000-square-mile service area within central, coastal and Southern California.
