Safety
Kids! Enter the Safety Poster Contest
Benton REA is once again sponsoring its Safety Poster Contest for all elementary schoolchildren whose parents or guardians are Benton REA members with active electrical accounts. Prizes will be distributed at the annual meeting July 13 at Enterprise Middle School in West Richland. Age Categories: Kindergartners and 1st graders 2nd and 3rd graders 4th and…
Avoid the Big Green Box
While overhead power lines and transformers are mounted on utility poles and substations are protected by security fences, pad-mounted transformers, switch boxes and pedestals are at ground level. These “big green boxes” are utility property and may need to be accessed at any time without notice. “We have about 3,260 pad-mounted transformers on our system,”…
Landscape for Savings and Safety
A well-designed landscape not only adds beauty to your home, but can reduce your heating and cooling costs. Trees and other plants on the east, south and west sides of your home help shade it, helping reduce cooling costs in the summer and cold winds in the winter. Deciduous trees lose their leaves during the…
Free Internet Security Classes Offered by PowerNET
Do you ever wonder if you are at risk of an internet hack or online identity fraud? Every day thousands of hackers may be attempting to steal your personal information. But you can stop them. Benton REA and PowerNET want you to be confident in your ability to be aware of and prevent internet and…
6 Ways to Protect Yourself in the Digital Age – Safe Email
Every day, countless emails are sent all over the world that attempt to steal your information, get you to send money, install malware or otherwise scam you. These emails are called phishing emails—the worst of the emails we collectively call spam. PowerNET uses a spam filter to help catch these bad emails and help keep…
Farm Workers Reap a Safe Harvest
It can be an exciting and exhausting time, the culmination of a season of hard work. However, the rush to harvest can also yield tragic outcomes. Each year, dozens of farm workers are killed and hundreds are injured in accidents involving power lines and electrical equipment. “Things people see every day can fade from view…
Farm Bros Sing About 811
Did you know digging without first calling 811 increases the chances you’ll knock out utility service to you and your neighbor? Don’t make a judgment call, make a phone call. Call 811 a few days before digging of any kind to have underground utilities marked. An underground line is damaged once every six minutes because…
Member Warns Others of Telephone Scam
“May I speak with whoever is responsible for the power bill,” said a voice over the telephone line. Thankfully, the Benton REA member who took this phone call on Thursday, July 19, 2018, understood that it was a scam attempt and hung up the phone. “The call sounded like an automated call, then a lady’s…
Benton REA Offices Remain Open During Construction Projects
This summer, road and water projects are causing limited access to Benton REA’s West Richland and Prosser offices, yet the cooperative offices will remain open. The City of West Richland’s Brotherhood Reservoir water main project may cause slowed and limited access to Benton REA’s office at 6095 Van Giesen Street. Road construction along 7th Street…
New Law Says “Move Over” for Utility Vehicles and Workers
Currently, Washington state law requires drivers to move over a lane or slow down for emergency vehicles stopped on the shoulder of the highway. Starting June 7, motorists must do the same for utility vehicles including line trucks from power utilities. Utility workers often have to work on powerlines located along roadways in inclement weather…