Our toll-free number is not available at this time. Please contact us using our local number, 740-344-2102.
Safety
Safety is Priority Number One.
Since 1936, The Energy Cooperative (TEC) has delivered safe, reliable, and affordable utility services and has played an important role in the economic and civic life of Central Ohio. Our first priority is safety for members, employees, and the public. We believe that if we take the lead in safety, others follow.
Electrical Safety
Keep a safe distance from overhead lines. They are not insulated, so they are placed overhead and well out of reach or underground. Call (888) 535-5732 immediately if you see a downed wire. Assume every downed power line is energized and dangerous. Consider any object touching lines energized as well.
Natural Gas and Propane Safety
Natural gas and Propane in their original state are odorless; we add an organic compound called Mercaptan before the gas is delivered to your home or business. The compound has a distinctive smell like rotten eggs to alert you to the presence of natural gas or propane escaping in or around your home. If you smell gas inside, get out immediately and leave the area quickly.
Stay inside if you can.
If a power line falls on your vehicle STAY INSIDE the vehicle unless you MUST exit due to other safety threats. Warn people to stay away and to not touch the vehicle. Call or ask someone to call 911, then call us.
If you must exit the vehicle because of fire or other threats, open the vehicle door. Do not step out! Jump free and clear of the vehicle, keeping both feet together. Once clear of the vehicle, shuffle in small steps at least 50 feet away, with both feet on the ground at all times.
Use Your Senses
- SMELL: To help you SMELL a leak from a gas line or appliance, a familiar odor like rotten eggs is often added to natural gas and propane gas.
- SEE: Near a gas leak, you might SEE blowing dirt, bubbling water or an unusual area of dead vegetation.
- HEAR: A leaking pipeline might make a hissing sound you can HEAR.
Smell rotten eggs or suspect a gas leak?
- Leave the building or the area immediately.
- Don’t light matches, touch electrical switches, use the phone or start a motor vehicle.
- If you have propane, shut off your tank by turning the knob located under the blue dome clockwise.
- Call The Energy Cooperative 1-800-255-6815 from a phone that is not near the leak. Our employees are on call 24 hours a day to respond to emergencies.
- Call 911.
- Never try to extinguish a gas fire or operate any pipeline valves.
- Plan to meet our service person or provide access to your home to inspect your equipment and check for the source of the odor.
It's Ohio Law.
If you’re planning a landscaping or construction project around your home in the months ahead, simply call the Ohio Utility Protection Service (OUPS) at 811 or 1-800-362-2764 – call two business days before you start. Your call alert us and other utilities of your excavation plans, and gives us the opportunity to notify you or mark where underground utility lines are located on your property. This free service can help protect you from personal injury or property damage, and prevents interruption of your natural gas and other utility service. Whether you operate heavy equipment or use handheld tools, when you work around power lines and natural gas pipelines remember to be safe.
On the job site, always be aware of electric power lines and gas pipelines. Be safe — 811 before you dig.
Are You a Contractor?
According to Ohio law, excavators and contractors should contact OHIO811at least 48 hours but no more than 10 working days (excluding weekends and legal holidays) before beginning any excavation project.