CPS Energy reminds home and business owners to make safety a priority as they get ready to celebrate the holidays. Decorations, lights, and electric cords should be handled and used appropriately to avoid the risk of fire.

The following tips can help prevent a holiday tragedy:

• Use only Underwriters’ Laboratories (UL) approved Christmas tree lights appropriately rated for indoor or outdoor use. 
• Examine cords and sockets for wear and discard or repair items with frayed wiring or other damaged electric parts. 
• Do not plug electrical toys or appliances into the outlet at the end of a string of lights. 
• Prevent electrical fires by not inserting too many plugs into a single outlet.
• To avoid accidental shock, CPS Energy recommends keeping all sockets on strings of lights filled. Replace burned out or defective bulbs immediately.
• Keep ladders away from power lines when hanging outdoor lights or decorations.
• In case of an electrical accident, call 911 and do not touch the victim, appliance or wire. Shut off the power by turning off the master cut out, circuit breakers or removing the fuse.
• Call CPS Energy at 353-HELP (4357) if you cannot shut off the power.

Along with safety, energy efficiency is also important. Utility cost can be reduced by
switching to Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs). The benefits of LEDs are:

Safer, Brighter

• LEDs are more durable and shock-resistant than conventional light strings because they do not contain filaments or glass bulbs that are easier to break.
• LEDs are brighter and cool to the touch – reducing the risk of fire. Christmas trees decorated with traditional Christmas lights can be a fire hazard, especially when the tree starts to dry out.
  Energy Efficient, Eco-Friendly
• A set of C9 LED lights uses 2.4 watts of electricity compared to the 167 watts used by a set of traditional C9 lights.
• If all seasonal mini-lights were switched to LEDs, the electricity cost savings nationally would exceed $250 million and carbon emissions could be reduced by 400,000 tons per year, according to the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI).

Durable, Longer-Lasting

• LEDs lasts up to 10 times longer (as many as 200,000 hours) than a conventional set of lights.
• LEDs are encased in a hard, durable plastic, making them less likely to break.

For more information, visit www.cpsenergy.com for holiday safety tips.