SAFETY & ENERGY

Dry Ice

Choptank Electric would like its members to know that the co-op will no longer provide dry ice if a prolonged power outage occurs.

A major weather event such as a hurricane, blizzard or ice storm can cause widespread outages throughout our service territory. During this type of situation, distributing dry ice from our offices takes manpower resources from our primary function as an electric utility, which is to restore power as quickly as possible.

If the power goes out, it is best to keep the refrigerator and freezer closed. Food products will stay frozen or cool for a period of time depending on the type of freezer or refrigerator, the thermostat setting, the temperature surrounding the appliance, and the amount of product in the unit.

Freezers will typically keep food frozen for 24 hours, in full freezers food will last up to 36 hours. If your freezer is not full of foodstuffs, we suggest that you fill gallon plastic jugs with water and place them in the freezer. This will increase the cooling longevity of the unit in the even of an outage.

For information on the handling, storage and use of dry ice, go to www.dryiceinfo.com, a site supported by the manufacturers and sellers of dry ice. The site also has a directory of dry ice suppliers in the area, www.dryicedirectory.com.