Employees corral kids’ curiosity to teach safety at rodeo
What’s cuter than watching a 6-year-old be a cowboy for a day? How about a group of cowboys and cowgirls enjoying a fun field trip to the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo. Over the last couple weeks, CPS Energy has had fun connecting with more than 8,000 elementary and middle school students that dropped by our exhibit in the Texas Wildlife Expo on the rodeo grounds. Watching kids’ eyes light up when they learn how solar panels and wind turbines work is very rewarding. Equipping these kids with potentially life-saving knowledge is priceless.
Kids are naturally curious, but it can quickly put them in harm’s way if they try to get a closer look at a downed power line or a green pad-mount transformer box in their backyard. Kids flying kites near power lines also may be unaware of the danger. Our Community Outreach team corralled their curiosity at the rodeo to teach some important lessons about electrical and natural gas safety.
“We want these kids to learn to ‘Look Up and Live’,” said Randy De Leon, Outreach Specialist. “The basic concept of ‘Look Up and Live’ is to keep an eye out for power lines. If they’re flying a kite and they see power lines, we want them to stay away and move to a safer location. Kids don’t realize they could be electrocuted if that kite comes into contact with the lines.”
Check out this video to learn more.
Community Outreach shared vital safety information with more than 26,000 people at the rodeo. If you didn’t get a chance to visit with us at the rodeo, here are some important safety topics that we covered.
Call Before You Dig: Planning a yard project that involves digging? Before you start, call 811 first to have utility lines clearly marked for FREE, including electric, natural gas, cable and phone lines. Allow 48 hours (two full working days) for a team to come to your property and mark utility lines before your project begins. It’s the law.
Natural Gas Safety: Natural gas is delivered to more than 60 million customers by 300,000 miles of underground pipelines throughout the U.S. Even if you don’t use natural gas, pipelines may be located near you. If you smell gas, even if it’s faint, don’t take any chances. Leave the house and call us at (210) 353-4357 (HELP).
Look Up and Live: Along with teaching kids to not fly kites near power lines, remember to never trim trees or use ladders near them either. If you have a tree limb near a power line that needs to be trimmed, call us first at 210-353-2222.
