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Kids and Safety

At Alabama Power, nothing is more important than safety. We want everyone to be safe – our customers, our employees, our neighbors, and especially their children.

Kids are curious by nature, so teach them about electrical safety. Remind them that electricity does a lot of wonderful things and makes our lives easier and more comfortable. But electricity is powerful and very fast – it travels at the speed of light (186,000 miles per second) – so we won’t get a second chance around electricity, and we must always be safe around it the first time.

One of the most important things for us to know about electricity is that it always wants to go to the ground. When we provide a path for the electricity to go to the ground, we can be hurt or injured. One of electricity’s favorites paths to the ground is through water. And because our bodies are made of about 70 percent water, we make great paths for electricity.

kids
kids and safety

 

How much do you know about electricity? What happens if a power line falls on your vehicle while you’re inside it? Do you get out and go for help? Or stay inside the vehicle and wait for help? Or what if a power line falls on a fence? Does the entire fence become energized or just the fence where the power line is down? Does it matter if the fence is made of metal or wood?

Do you know the correct answers to these questions? Maybe more importantly, do your children know? If they don’t know or you’re not sure if they know, they need to see our Safe-T-Opolis program. 

Safe-T-Opolis is our free electrical safety program that explains how and why kids can stay safe around electricity. The 45-minute program is presented virtually to 4th grade students in our service territory teaching how to be safe around electricity and how to avoid hazardous situations. Safe-T-Opolis features a video game which contains minigames, puzzles, character customizations and hidden Easter Eggs and a trivia game that tests students’ understanding of the 4th grade Alabama Course of Study Standards. The virtual program is presented by specially trained Alabama Power employees. Safe-T-Opolis teaches valuable information that could very well mean the difference between life and death.

kids and safety
kids and safety

By the way, the answer to the power line on a vehicle question is to stay inside the vehicle, call 911 and wait until help arrives. If a power line is on your vehicle and you’re inside the vehicle, the safest place to be is inside the vehicle because the downed power line could be energizing the ground around the vehicle. If you were to exit the vehicle, you could become a path to the ground and could be electrocuted. And the answer to the power line on a fence question is, it doesn’t matter what kind of materials the fence is made from. There’s a power line on it, so the entire fence can be energized! That’s why we say stay away from all downed power lines. In our Safe-T-Opolis program, we cover this and eight other potentially fatal situations where we not only explain, but show the audience, how to be safe.

Electric Academy

Electric Academy

Visit Electric Academy to place your order for free Louie booklets, learn about energy efficiency or play an interactive game on electrical safety.

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Safe-T-Opolis

Safe-T-Opolis

Help your 4th grade students stay safe around electricity.

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Safe-T-Zone

Safe-T-Zone

High voltage safety program for first responders.

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Learn with Louie

Learn with Louie

Looking for fun and educational ways to keep kids learning and engaged at home? Meet Louie the Lightning Bug. Take advantage of his free interactive activities, designed for the whole family to enjoy.

 

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