LG&E, KU Provide Holiday Decorating Safety Tips
11.21.2006


(LOUISVILLE, Ky.) Holiday lights make the season festive and bright, but each December flickering candles, faulty lights and dried-out Christmas trees cause hundreds of house fires and send thousands of people to hospital emergency rooms. Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities urge customers to follow these important safety tips to keep the holidays safe and happy:

• Check, and, if needed, replace batteries in smoke detectors.
• Check every set of holiday lights for frayed or bare wires, loose connections or broken sockets. Throw away damaged sets.
• Always replace burned-out holiday bulbs with bulbs of the same wattage.
• Choose only lights that have been tested for safety by an independent agency, such as Underwriters Laboratory (UL).
• Keep cords unplugged as you're stringing the lights.
• Decorate the outside of your home only during daylight hours so it's easy to see power lines and avoid them with your ladder. Always carry ladders parallel to the ground and look up to check for power lines before setting ladders down.
• Before stringing lights in outdoor trees, check to be sure the tree hasn't grown too close to power lines. If it comes in contact with the power lines, the entire tree could be electrified.
• Remember the rule of three: Use no more than three sets of lights on a single extension cord to avoid the risk of it overheating.
• Trim your tree with only flame-resistant materials, including tinsel or artificial icicles made of plastic or lead-free metal. Leaded materials are hazardous if children eat them.
• Don't run cords under rugs or furniture.
• Use candleholders that won't tip and light candles only when they're held securely in the holders.
• Never use lighted candles on a tree or near other evergreens. Always use non-flammable holders, and place candles out of reach of children and pets.

Visit www.lge-ku.com for more information about holiday safety.



E.ON U.S. LLC, headquartered in Louisville, Ky., is a subsidiary of E.ON A.G., the world's largest investor-owned energy services provider. E.ON U.S. is a diversified energy services company that owns and operates Louisville Gas and Electric Company, a regulated utility that serves 321,000 natural gas and 394,000 electric customers in Louisville and 16 surrounding counties, and Kentucky Utilities Company, a regulated electric utility in Lexington, Ky., that serves 525,000 customers in 77 Kentucky counties and five counties in Virginia.