PECO Offers Summer Safety Tips to Families

School's out for summer! The familiar rumble of the last days of the school year echoes across the region, signaling that summer break is here and fun in the sun is just around the bend. As summer sets in, parents cannot follow their children everywhere; however, a few electrical safety basics can follow them wherever the fun takes them -- the backyard patio, the pool or the park.

"It is important that parents make electrical safety a priority for summer, especially as kids begin a three-month journey of newfound freedom," said Denis O'Brien, president of PECO Energy. "We encourage parents to sit down with their kids and visit http://www.pecosafety.com/ for electric safety lessons taught through fun, interactive games as well as review our safety basics checklist with everyone in their family."

  *  Be aware of power lines around you and always assume that wires are
     "live and dangerous." Never touch an outdoor wire with any part of your
     body, toys or other objects.

  *  Do not throw items such as gym shoes onto electric lines and equipment
     or try to retrieve items from around aerial power lines.

  *  Fly kites and model airplanes and other toys in large open areas such
     as a field or a park -- safely away from trees and overhead power
     lines.  Also, do not attempt to retrieve balloons, kites or other
     objects that may get stuck on power lines or other electrical
     equipment.  Instead, call PECO at 1-800-841-4141.

  *  Do not climb trees near power lines. Even if power lines are not
     touching the tree, they could touch during climbing when more weight is
     added to a branch.

  *  Never climb a utility pole, or play on or around electrical equipment.

  *  Never post or tie signs, hang banners or tie ribbons or balloons onto
     utility poles or other electrical equipment. This can be dangerous to
     you and endanger utility workers.

  *  Do not go into an electric substation for any reason -- even on a dare.
     Electric substations contain high-voltage equipment, which can kill
     you. Also, never attempt to rescue a pet that goes inside. Instead,
     call PECO.

  *  Never try to rescue a family member, friend or pet that has come into
     contact with any electrical equipment -- Call 911 immediately.

  *  Keep electrical toys, appliances and tools at least 10 feet away from
     pools and wet surfaces.

  *  Never touch any electrical toys, appliance and tools while you are wet
     or standing in water.  Energy flows easily through water, like a puddle
     or a pool.

  Making Safety Fun

To incorporate fun into safety lessons for kids, visit http://www.peco.com/ and learn about Louie the Lightening Bug's Safety Ranger program. These interactive Web pages use games, experiments, information and activities to help keep everyone in the family safe.

Based in Philadelphia, PECO Energy is an electric and natural gas utility subsidiary of Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC) . PECO serves 1.5 million electric and 460,000 natural gas customers in southeastern Pennsylvania. In 2004, the company delivered 37.5 million megawatt hours (mWh) of electricity and 87.1 billion cubic feet of natural gas to residential, business and institutional customers. PECO's energy delivery services generated $4.49 billion in revenue for Exelon. 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.

CONTACT: Cathy Engel of PECO Energy, +1-215-841-4492, +1-215-841-5555.

Source: PECO Energy

CONTACT: Cathy Engel of PECO Energy, +1-215-841-4492, +1-215-841-5555

Web site: http://www.peco.com/
http://www.pecosafety.com/