PECO Natural Gas Safety Tips to Keep Customers Safe this Winter

PHILADELPHIA (December 21, 2015) – While it may feel more like spring, the first day of winter is the perfect time to prepare heating equipment before temperatures take the polar plunge. Just as PECO prepares natural gas and electric systems for winter, customers should prepare too. Heating systems should be checked now and inspected by a qualified technician to ensure safe and efficient operation for the season ahead.

Customers using natural gas to heat their homes or businesses also should remember the following important information to ensure safe and reliable service this winter:

Natural gas has no natural odor, so an odorant is added to help detect when a leak occurs.
Leaks can be caused by construction or by ground movement during winter’s deep freeze.
Reporting a natural gas odor promptly plays a critical role in ensuring safety.

If you smell natural gas, call PECO at 1-800-841-4141, 24 hours-a-day, every day.

If you smell a faint odor of natural gas, check to see if a pilot light is out or if a burner is partially on. If you cannot find the source, call PECO.

If you smell a very strong odor of natural gas:

Evacuate immediately and call 911 and PECO from outside
Do not turn any electrical switches on or off
Do not use devices such as phones, radios, doorbells or flashlights
Do not smoke, strike a match or use a lighter
Do not start a motor vehicle near the building

If you smell natural gas outside, especially near a natural gas meter, call PECO.

PECO works hard to ensure safe, reliable, affordable and clean energy service for more than 508,000 natural gas customers. The company inspects and maintains approximately 12,000 miles of natural gas transmission, distribution and service lines. In addition, PECO responds to reports of natural gas odors in less than an hour - 99.9 percent of the time - which is one of the best response times among Pennsylvania natural gas utilities.

For more information about natural gas safety, visit peco.com/safety.

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Based in Philadelphia, PECO is an electric and natural gas utility subsidiary of Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC). The company’s 2,400 dedicated employees provide advanced, innovative energy solutions to 1.6 million electric and more than 506,000 natural gas customers in southeastern Pennsylvania. In 2014 PECO delivered 89.9 billion cubic feet of natural gas and 37.5 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity and had an estimated economic impact of $4.5 billion in Pennsylvania, supporting more than 9,600 local jobs and producing $760 million in labor income. Founded in 1881, PECO is one of the Greater Philadelphia Region’s most active corporate citizens, providing leadership, volunteer and financial support to numerous arts and culture, education, environmental, economic development and community programs and organizations. For more information visit PECO.com, and connect with the company on Facebook and Twitter.

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