Guidelines Offered to Ensure Safety
Madison, Wis. – June 9, 2008 – After the weekend storms that pounded much of central and
southern Wisconsin, flooding has become a serious issue in several parts of the state. It is
important to remember that walking through a wet or flooded home or building can be
dangerous. Alliant Energy advises people to use extreme caution in this situation and offers the
following guidelines to ensure safety.
Never walk through a flooded home or building until the electricity is disconnected. Even a
small amount of water on the floor of your basement can put you at risk for electrocution.
Call Alliant Energy to have service disconnected at the meter. If there is standing water in
your home or business, call Alliant Energy at 1-800-ALLIANT (255-4268) to have power
disconnected before you step into any standing water. Once the power is disconnected, it’s safe to
begin clean up.
Call Alliant Energy to have your natural gas turned off. Standing water can snuff out pilot
lights on hot water heaters and furnaces. If this occurs, natural gas may collect in your home,
creating the risk of an explosion. Also, if your gas meter is under water you need to have your
natural gas turned off. Call Alliant Energy at 1-800-ALLIANT (255-4268) to have your home’s
natural gas service turned off.
Have a licensed electrician inspect your electrical system before calling to be reconnected.
Have your furnace and water heater inspected by a heating or appliance and service repair
contractor before calling to be reconnected. Gas appliance manufacturers recommend
appliance parts that have been under water be replaced.
Alliant Energy does not charge for flood-related disconnects and reconnects. Shutting off your gas
and electric service during times of flooding is done for safety purposes. Alliant Energy will not charge you
to have your service turned off when flooding occurs, or turned back on after the clean-up is done.
For more information, call Alliant Energy’s 24-hour Customer Service Center at 1-800-255-4628.
You can also check out the Storm and Outage Center in the Utility Services section of our
website at Storm & Outage Center.
Alliant Energy is an energy-services provider with subsidiaries serving approximately 1 million electric and 400,000 natural gas
customers. Providing its customers in the Midwest with regulated electric and natural gas service is the company’s primary
focus. Wisconsin Power and Light, the company’s Wisconsin utility subsidiary, serves approximately 450,000 electric and
175,000 natural gas customers. Alliant Energy, headquartered in Madison, Wis., is a Fortune 1000 company traded on the
New York Stock Exchange under the symbol LNT. For more information, visit the company’s Web site at www.alliantenergy.com.
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