COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — Matt Long with Dominion Energy says the number one cause of outages during a winter storm will be trees or limbs, weighed down by ice or snow, falling onto power lines. Crews help prepare year-round to prevent this. “And so a lot of the work we do year round to prepare for storms like this is to trim back that vegetation on sunny days to help reduce the risk of that happening when a storm does hit,” says Long. If you see a downed power line, Long urges everyone to stay away. “Make sure others stay away, especially children. You can’t always see the line in that vegetation. Always assume that line is energized even if you don’t see the signs of it,” he says. Downed lines or power outages can be reported by calling 888-333-4465 or through Dominion Energy’s mobile app. And when it comes to heating your home, Dominion suggests raising or lowering the temperature a degree or two at a time, to prevent setting off your auxiliary heat setting. “We do encourage customers to keep their thermostat as close to 68 degrees as possible. That’s kind of a sweet spot, that helps with your energy consumption, and limit it from maybe spiking quite as much as if your thermostat is up in the low 70’s,” says Long. Keep an emergency kit at home as well to help you feel prepared for outages. “This is stuff like batteries, flashlights, nonperishable foods, that you are ready to weather an outage if it does occur,” says Long. Categories: Local News, News Tags: Dominion Energy, Winter Weather