1. Report Outages
2. Halloween Safety
3. Energy Vampires
4. Spice Cake Recipe
   





Norris Public Power District
606 Irving Street
Beatrice, NE 68310
402-223-4038
www.norrisppd.com

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Every day the employees of Norris Public Power District work hard to prevent and minimize interruptions in electric service. Unfortunately, unforeseen events such as storms can often cause power outages. Norris understands how inconvenient it is to be without electricity, so we strive to make the process of reporting outages as easy as possible including from your mobile device.

Report outages with the SmartHub App

You can report outages easily and quickly with a few simple taps on your mobile device. The app even allows you to submit comments and information that are important to linemen to know such things as the location of a downed power line, trees that have fallen onto power lines or vehicle accidents that involve Norris' poles or equipment.

To report an outage, login into your account from a computer or mobile device. If you are a first-time SmartHub user, you will need your account number to register for SmartHub. SmartHub is connected to your individual account and should only be used to report your own outage. To ensure that linemen are responding to the correct location, never use SmartHub to report an outage for a friend, neighbor or relative.

Text Outage Reporting

To enhance the ability to report power outages, Norris customers can now text a notification. The first step for customers to adopt this option is to be a registered SmartHub user with a cellular number linked to your account. Customers with a cellular number already linked to their account do not need to complete this process.

To report an outage by text message simply text OUTAGE to 768482.

Real-Time Outage Notifications

Get real-time outage notifications sent to your mobile device or computer. Once you have signed up to receive power restoration notifications in SmartHub, you will get text or email notifications when your power has been restored.

Please do not report outages through email, Facebook or Twitter as they are not monitored 24/7 and it may delay response time.

This year, Nebraskans are encouraged to adapt celebrations such as trick-or-treating and fall activities considering the ongoing pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offers recommendations that lower the potential for COVID-19 exposure during Halloween and other holiday celebrations. Ways to modify favorite traditions and celebrate safely this fall are available at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/holidays.html#halloween.

Lower risk activities

These lower risk activities can be safe alternatives:

• Carving or decorating pumpkins with members of your household and displaying them
• Carving or decorating pumpkins outside, at a safe distance, with neighbors or friends
• Decorating your house, apartment or living space
• Doing a Halloween scavenger hunt where children are given lists of Halloween-themed things to look for while they walk outdoors from house to house admiring Halloween decorations at a distance
• Having a virtual Halloween costume contest
• Having a Halloween movie night with people you live with
• Having a scavenger hunt-style trick-or-treat search with your household members in or around your home rather than going house to house

Moderate risk activities

• Participating in one-way trick-or-treating where individually wrapped goodie bags are lined up for families to grab and go while continuing to social distance (such as at the end of a driveway or at the edge of a yard)
• If you are preparing goodie bags, wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds before and after preparing the bags.
• Having a small group, outdoor, open-air costume parade where people are distanced more than 6 feet apart
• Attending a costume party held outdoors where protective masks are used and people can remain more than 6 feet apart
• A costume mask (such as for Halloween) is not a substitute for a cloth mask. A costume mask should not be used unless it is made of two or more layers of breathable fabric that covers the mouth and nose and doesn't leave gaps around the face.
• Do not wear a costume mask over a protective cloth mask because it can be dangerous if the costume mask makes it hard to breathe. Instead, consider using a Halloween-themed cloth mask.
• Going to an open-air, one-way, walk-through haunted forest where appropriate mask use is enforced, and people can remain more than 6 feet apart
• If screaming will likely occur, greater distancing is advised. The greater the distance, the lower the risk of spreading a respiratory virus.
• Visiting pumpkin patches or orchards where people use hand sanitizer before touching pumpkins or picking apples, wearing masks is encouraged or enforced, and people can maintain social distancing
• Having an outdoor Halloween movie night with local family friends with people spaced at least 6 feet apart
• If screaming will likely occur, greater distancing is advised. The greater the distance, the lower the risk of spreading a respiratory virus.
• Lower your risk by following CDC's recommendations on hosting gatherings or cook-outs.

Higher risk activities

Avoid these higher risk activities to help prevent the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19:

• Participating in traditional trick-or-treating where treats are handed to children who go door to door
• Having trunk-or-treat where treats are handed out from trunks of cars lined up in large parking lots
• Attending crowded costume parties held indoors
• Going to an indoor haunted house where people may be crowded together and screaming
• Going on hayrides or tractor rides with people who are not in your household
• Using alcohol or drugs, which can cloud judgement and increase risky behaviors
• Traveling to a rural fall festival that is not in your community if you live in an area with community spread of COVID-19

To commemorate National Energy Awareness Month, Norris Public Power District is featuring some scarily effective ways to save energy. Halloween or as we like to call it, Energyween is just around the corner. While trick or treaters are roaming the streets in search of screams and sweets, a hidden terror could already be lurking in your home. We're talking about energy vampires, evil ghouls that suck electrical power from your appliances when you aren't using them, taking a big bite out of your wallet.

For instance, mobile phone chargers that are left plugged in after your phone is disconnected consume .26 watts of energy and 2.24 watts when your phone is fully charged and still connected. If you start factoring in all the other appliances and electronics that are plugged in and not in use, it's easy to see why these energy vampires could add an extra ten percent to your monthly utility bill.

Slay energy vampires with these four simple strategies:

1. Unplug. Unplug. Unplug. This probably won't work for your cable box or wireless router, but if you have an extra TV or some other electronic device or appliance you don't switch on often, you should consider unplugging it completely until the next time you actually use it.
2. Plug your appliances into power strips. Power strips let you toggle the power flow on and off. This means you can control the power usage of clusters of devices so that they're not consuming electricity when you're not at home. Using a light switch that turns power outlets on and off, if you have one, accomplishes the same and with even less effort. An advanced power strip makes it even easier by turning off idle electronics without any additional steps from you.
3. Curb idle time. Simply setting your computer to sleep mode or stopping a game and powering down your video game console instead of leaving it paused for a prolonged period, could lead to bigger savings.
4. Make smart upgrades. When it comes time to send your old electronics and appliances to the graveyard, consider replacing them with ENERGY STAR devices. They have a lower standby consumption than your average device and use less energy.