FRANKLIN — Residents who experience power outages are encouraged to contact their electrical company, the city council and a Cleco representative said Tuesday.

Councilman Dale Rogers initiated a discussion concerning power outages during the Franklin City Council’s short meeting.

Rogers called on Steven Segura, customer and community services manager with Cleco, to discuss the importance of reporting outages.

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“There’s a 1-800 number during a power outage. You may be a single customer, but you need to call it in,” Segura said.

Customers are urged to call 1-800-622-6537 to report outages, he said.

“Please call in. It may be a single customer on a circuit. You need to call it in. Sometimes it’s a whole circuit, or sometimes a whole substation may go down like last Wednesday. The only way that we can assist you is to call in and make sure we’re aware of your outage, and we’ll send our mechanics out and try to make restoration whether it’s a single or major outage,” said Segura.

According to Segura, an electrical storm Aug. 9 knocked out one of the company’s substations, knocking out power at just after 6 p.m. in a portion of Jeanerette, Charenton, Baldwin, Franklin, Cypremort Point and Centerville.

Mayor Raymond Harris commended the company for restoring the power within about two hours.

“Last week when we had the electrical storm, I was beginning to think we were going to be out all night. I said this right after the hurricane, I was impressed with how fast you guys got it back on. I want to thank you for that,” Harris said.

Segura said customers are urged to call in any outages, so they can be recorded.

“We have a lot of customers that call and say this has happened four or five times, and we go back on the record and we don’t see anything,” he said. “We keep a good record of all calls that are coming in. It’s for us and for you.”

In other business, Franklin Fire Chief Chuck Bourgeois said the department’s ongoing distribution of free smoke detectors is moving along.

The department has been distributing slips to each house. The slips can be returned to the department for the detector.

“It’s going well. It’s kind of slow, but it’s going pretty good,” said Bourgeois. “We have about 40 percent show up with the slips we’re handing out. I don’t know if they’re not receiving them or if it’s getting pulled off the door or something like that. If anybody hasn’t received a slip, give us a call and we’ll go by there and make sure what’s going on.”

Bourgeois said if there are any homes or trailers that may get overlooked, residents can contact the Fire Department to get their smoke detectors.

“All they have to do is bring in an ID and a copy of a bill from the residence to make sure that they live there, and we’ll give them what they need,” Bourgeois said.