Coming into contact with overhead powerlines can mean instant and lethal damage. Respect the power by using common sense and taking care when near powerlines.
Downed Power Lines
Never go near downed power lines.
- A downed power line can still be energized and can cause other things around it to become potentially hazardous. A fence or guardrail touching a downed line can be energized for several thousand yards and it poses a threat to anyone coming into contact with it.
- Stay away from puddles of water that could be in contact with downed lines. Encountering these can be as hazardous as coming into contact with the downed power line itself.
- If you are driving and come upon a downed power line, stay in your vehicle, warn others to stay away, and call 911.
- Also when driving, be careful at intersections where traffic lights may be out. Stop at all railroad crossings and treat road intersections with traffic signals as four-way stops before proceeding with caution.
Talk About Electrical Safety with Your Children
Children often do not understand the danger of electricity and electrical equipment. In their innocent and imaginative minds, what can be potentially dangerous may go unnoticed or even appear enticing and fun. Take an opportunity to point out overhead power lines and any other electrical equipment to children and explain what they are.
Recommended Safety Rules
SEC recommends teaching children to follow these rules:
- Never climb trees near power lines. Even if the power lines are not touching the tree, they could touch when more weight is added to the branch.
- Kites and model airplanes should be flown only during good weather conditions in large open areas, like an open park or a wide field. Keep kites away from overhead power lines or other electrical equipment, such as substations. If a kite gets stuck in a tree near power lines, do not climb up to get it. Electricity can travel down kite strings or wires. Contact your electric utility for assistance.
- Never climb a utility pole or tower. The electricity carried through this equipment is high voltage and could kill you.
- Don’t play on or around pad-mounted electrical equipment. These are often green metal “boxes” on cement pads and contain transformers.
- Never go into an electric substation. Electric substations contain high-voltage equipment; even raising your hand inside one can cause an arc that may cause an electric shock. Never attempt to retrieve a pet, ball, or any toy from these areas. Call your electric utility instead.
- Immediately seek shelter if lightning or thunder is present while playing outdoors.
- When designing a tree house or outdoor play area for children, take preventive precautions before starting your project. Do not install playground equipment or swimming pools underneath or near power lines. Installation of either will require digging; contact VA811 to have buried lines marked, so you can avoid serious injury and damage.
Protect all family members from serious shock and injuries by installing ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs) on outdoor outlets and in interior rooms where water is present. A GFCI shuts off power instantly if it detects a problem. Use portable GFCIs for outdoor outlets that don’t have them. GFCIs are affordably priced and found at hardware stores.
Be careful using electrical appliances outdoors, even if plugged into GFCI-equipped outlets. Never use appliances with frayed or damaged extension cords and always be sure the ground prong is intact.
Teach kids never to touch an electric appliance while in a pool or hot tub, to keep all electrical appliances at least ten feet away from pools, ponds, and wet surfaces, and that it is never safe to swim in a pool or lake when a storm is brewing.
Teach older children to exercise caution before plugging in a radio, CD player, or any electrical gadget outdoors, and never leave any electrical appliance outside. If it rains, the device could get wet and cause an electrical shock when used later.
Flooded areas are never safe spots to wade or play in, and if there has been severe weather, may be in contact with energized electrical equipment or fallen power lines left behind.
Ensure your family knows to stay away from downed power lines and wires and tell children to report any fallen or dangling wires to an adult. Downed power lines are dangerous; always assume any power line is energized and stay far away. Contact us immediately if you or your child encounters a downed power line and include this number with other posted emergency phone numbers.
Attaching Signs to Poles
Putting signs or other items on utility poles creates serious safety hazards. Staples, nails, and tacks used to hang signs – as well as the signs themselves – pose dangers to SEC’s lineworkers who climb poles when restoring power following storms or while performing routine maintenance to ensure system reliability. Nails and tacks left behind from signs can snag utility workers’ boots or puncture safety clothing, making linemen vulnerable to slipping or even electrocution.
Hunting Safety Tips from SEC
Shooting at utility facilities — wires, poles, and insulators — is dangerous, jeopardizes everyone’s power, and is a felony in Virginia. Never attempt to shoot through wires or at anything that may be on the wires or poles. Gunshot damage to electrical equipment can cause an electrical arc or cause wires to fall, with a high risk of serious injury or death.
Virginia’s Overhead High Voltage Line Safety Act
Virginia’s Overhead High Voltage Line Safety Act, which went into effect July 1, 2003, increases the protective work zone around overhead high-voltage lines and places greater responsibility on contractors who work near overhead power lines to be particularly mindful of their surroundings.
Contractors must call the appropriate utility (call Southside Electric Cooperative at (800) 552-2118 before working near these lines and allow the proper safety arrangements to be put in place before commencing their work.
Frequently Asked Questions
The law prohibits work within 10 feet of an overhead line carrying 600 or more volts. If anyone wants to work within the 10-foot limit, the law requires that mutually acceptable safety arrangements be made between the person performing the work and the utility that owns the line. The law provides an added incentive for compliance. If someone does not follow the law's requirements and an accident occurs, the burden and liability will lie with the party performing the work - not the line owner.
Virginia enacted its Overhead High Voltage Line Safety Act in 1989. Unfortunately, there were numerous injuries and accidents caused by contact with overhead lines. The Virginia Department of Labor and Industry found 47 known violations of the law during the federal fiscal year ending September 30, 2002. The latest law's clearly defined responsibilities provide contractors with the incentive to call and with utilities the opportunity to make job sites safe.
- An expanded safety zone.
The newest law expands the safety zone around high voltage lines (600 volts or greater) by prohibiting work within 10 feet of the facilities unless mutually agreeable safety arrangements have been completed.
- Clarification of the duties of line owners and businesses.
The amendments clarify the duties of both the line owners and businesses that want to perform work within the ten-foot limit. The proposal requires persons responsible for such work to notify the utility promptly to request safety arrangements. To avoid confusion, the amendments eliminate the current provisions imposing a 48-hour waiting period between notification and the planned beginning of the work. Instead, the line owner is given five working days (from the date of the request) to initiate the agreed-upon safety measures. Finally, the amendments make clear that the work cannot begin until all of the temporary safety arrangements are completed. The amendments also eliminate high voltage line owner or operator liability in cases where workers have not provided the utility notice as required by law.
- Incentives for compliance.
Finally, the amendments incorporate the principle that most high voltage line accidents would be prevented if businesses had a more powerful incentive to call the utility before starting work. Contractors have an increased responsibility under the newly revised law to contact utilities' before working near overhead high-voltage lines. The changes are intended to prompt contractors to become more conscious of the need to call the utility prior to beginning work. With such notification, many injuries and accidents could be prevented.
Yes. The indemnity provision is similar to those found in 19 of the 30 states with high voltage safety acts. The provisions are widely viewed as a significant incentive for businesses to comply with the requirements of the law. The indemnification language is intended to prompt contractors to become more conscious of the need to call the utility prior to beginning work thereby avoiding injuries or accidents.
No, this only applies to overhead power lines. Another Virginia state law addresses underground line safety and damage prevention.
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