Superior Water, Light & Power, an ALLETE Company

COVID-19: Safety protocols for entering customer homes and businesses

The safety of our employees, customers and communities is our priority during COVID-19. As Superior Water, Light and Power continues to provide the vital energy and water services you depend on, there are times we need to visit your home or business. We may need to complete necessary maintenance or upgrades to your gas, electric or water service, or we may need to read meters. Our crews are following COVID-19 guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Wisconsin Department of Health, and we have protocols in place to help keep both you and our employees safe.

Before we arrive

• All of our employees complete a daily health screening and temperature check before they leave for work. If they exhibit any symptoms of COVID-19, they will stay home and not come to work.
• Before visiting your home or business for necessary maintenance or meter reads, we will call to schedule a convenient time. We’ll also ask you health-related questions to help us as we plan our visit:
  1. Has anyone in the residence, location or establishment had a possible exposure or traveled to an area with a known COVID-19 outbreak within the past 14 days?
  2. Is anyone in the residence, location or establishment self-quarantined or self-monitoring for COVID-19 within the past 14 days?
  3. Is anyone in the residence sick with a respiratory illness, cough, fever, congestion, or experiencing shortness of breath?

On-site

• When we arrive at your home or business, we ask you to maintain a social distance of 6 feet and to stay in another room, if possible, while we work.
• Our employees will wear masks on-site and will use other appropriate safety equipment such as safety glasses and disposable gloves.

Kind of work

• We’ll complete necessary maintenance or upgrades to your gas, electric or water service and read meters. Our crews will enter your home or business only when we can perform these types of tasks while tasks that require little to no customer contact.
• We also are preparing to inspect gas, water and electric meters inside customer homes this summer and fall to comply with safety regulations. Our employees will continue to follow national and state safety and health guidelines.
• You also may see us upgrading meters or working on utility equipment on vacant property or other locations where minimal or no customer interaction is necessary.

Emergencies

We continue to respond as quickly as possible to emergencies. When you call to report an emergency related to your water, gas or electric service, we will need to ask you a few health-related questions to keep you and our response crew safe. Please call 1-800-227-7957 in emergencies.

Questions?

If you have questions about our safety protocols, please email swlpquestions@swlp.com or call us at 715-394-2200. SWL&P’s priority remains keeping our employees, customers, and community safe while delivering essential energy and water services.