BALTIMORE (Dec.10, 2015) – The holiday season is a festive time of year with residents displaying lights and other decorations inside and outside of their homes. Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE) wants customers to ring in this holiday season in the safest way possible by remembering the following safe lighting and fire prevention tips:

Holiday Lighting Safety Tips 

• Only decorate with lights approved by the Underwriter’s Laboratory (UL). 
• Turn off all decorative lighting when leaving the house and before going to bed. 
• Follow the manufacturer's guidelines for the number of strands of lights that can safely be connected together. 
• Check all light strands for cracked or broken plugs, loose connections and frayed insulation or exposed (bare) wires. Worn cords can cause fires. 
• Discard all damaged sets of lights. 
• Consider using energy efficient light-emitting diode (LED) lighting products. These products produce about 75 percent less energy, so they are safer to operate than traditional incandescent bulbs and The BGE Smart Energy Savers Program® offers instant discounts of up to $5 on select ENERGY STAR® certified LED bulbs at participating retailers. For more information, visit bgesmartenergy.com.

Outdoor Lighting Safety Tips 

• Before working with outdoor lights, check for overhead power lines. Do not place yourself or any object in a position where you or it may come in contact with a power line. Keep yourself or any object at least 10 feet away from all overhead lines. 
• Ensure that the lights used to decorate the outside of the house are approved for outdoor use. Never use indoor lights outside. 
• If stringing lights on trees, make sure tree limbs have not grown into or near power lines. Branches or entire trees can become energized if they come in contact with a power line. 
• Hang outdoor lights with insulated staples or hooks, not nails or tacks.

Indoor Lighting Safety Tips 

• Route cords inside your home so they do not pose a tripping hazard. Do not place cords under rugs, furniture or other appliances. If covered, cords can overheat or become frayed and can cause a fire. 
• Never overload wall outlets. 
• If you have a real Christmas tree, be sure to keep it watered. 
• Do not use real candles. If you do, keep all burning candles within sight and extinguish them before leaving the room or going to bed. Keep candles on a stable, heat-resistant surface and away from children and pets.

Ladder Safety Tips 

• Maintain three points of contact when ascending or descending a ladder. Do not work off the top two steps of any ladder and make sure that the ladder’s feet are firmly set and square before climbing. 
• If possible, have a spotter at the base of the ladder.

BGE wants to wish all of its customers a very safe and happy holiday season.

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BGE, headquartered in Baltimore, is Maryland’s largest natural gas and electric utility, delivering power to more than 1.25 million electric customers and more than 650,000 natural gas customers in central Maryland. The company’s approximately 3,200 employees are committed to the safe and reliable delivery of natural gas and electricity, as well as enhanced energy management, conservation, environmental stewardship and community assistance. BGE is a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), the nation’s leading competitive energy provider, with 2014 revenues of approximately $27.4 billion. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter, YouTube and Flickr.