LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — As temperatures begin to cool and daylight hours grow shorter, Entergy Arkansas is encouraging customers to take a few simple steps to prepare their homes and communities for the fall season.
From making sure heating equipment is ready for colder weather to reporting streetlights that are not working, a little preparation can go a long way toward protecting families and improving community safety.
Get your home heating system ready
Before turning on the furnace for the season, have heating equipment inspected and cleaned by a qualified professional. The National Fire Protection Association recommends annual maintenance of furnaces, fireplaces and chimneys to help ensure they operate safely.
Customers should also keep these heating safety tips in mind:
- Never use an oven to heat your home.
- Turn portable space heaters off when leaving a room or going to bed.
- Keep children at least three feet away from fireplaces, space heaters and other heating equipment.
- Test smoke alarms at least once a month.
Entergy Arkansas also offers programs designed to help customers improve their homes’ energy efficiency, including energy audits and HVAC tune-ups. Customers can learn more about available energy-efficiency resources at EntergyArkansas.com/EnergyEfficiency.
Help keep streets and neighborhoods safe
The end of daylight-saving time brings earlier sunsets and longer periods of darkness, making properly functioning streetlights especially important for visibility and community safety.
Although Entergy Arkansas lighting teams routinely patrol and inspect streetlights the company owns or maintains, the company encourages customers to report any streetlights they encounter that are not working.
There are three convenient ways to report a streetlight outage:
- Entergy mobile app: This is the recommended reporting method. After logging in, select the outage map feature. The app can use your device’s GPS to pinpoint your location or allow you to manually enter an address. You can then select the specific streetlight maintained by Entergy. Make sure location services are enabled if using GPS.
- Online: Visit entergy.com and select the “Report an outage” option.
- By phone: Call 1-800-9OUTAGE to report a streetlight issue.
Not all streetlights are owned or maintained by Entergy. Some are the responsibility of another utility, local municipality or state agency. Customers can use the streetlight icon displayed on Entergy’s outage map to help determine whether a particular light is maintained by the company.
Don’t overlook other seasonal safety reminders
Fall is also a good time to prepare for seasonal changes in routines and weather. Health officials recommend annual influenza vaccinations, and customers should remain alert while driving as shorter days can mean reduced visibility and increased risks on the road.
Changing the clocks is also a convenient reminder to check smoke alarm and carbon monoxide detector batteries throughout the home.
Taking these precautions now can help families enjoy the season while preparing for the colder months ahead.
About Entergy Arkansas
Entergy Arkansas provides electricity to approximately 738,000 customers in 63 counties. Entergy Arkansas is a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation. Entergy generates, transmits and distributes electricity to power life for more than 3 million customers through our operating companies in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. We’re focused on keeping costs for our customers as low as possible while providing reliable energy that our communities count on. We’re also investing in growth for the future with a more resilient, cleaner energy system that includes modern natural gas, nuclear and renewable energy generation. As a nationally recognized leader in sustainability and corporate citizenship, we deliver more than $100 million in economic benefits each year to the communities we serve through philanthropy, volunteerism and advocacy. Entergy is a Fortune 500 company headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, and has approximately 12,000 employees. Learn more at EntergyArkansas.com and connect with @EntergyARK on social media.
