Emergency Response to Electric Cable Damages

**Bob at UTA** · May 1st, 2010, 12:27 AM

Short Topic - Electricity Kills
When responding to electric damages, remember this. A damaged underground cable can still be energized from the source and be looking for a pathway to ground. Don’t be that pathway…
This short clip shows a substation switch being opened and breaking continuity.

**Bob at UTA** · May 1st, 2010, 12:30 AM

This is a picture of a damaged primary electric cable located inside the blue conduit caused by a ground rod driven by a contractor. The contractor did not call for locates because they thought that there was little chance that anything would be buried directly beneath a CATV pedestal, they were driving the ground rods directly inside the peds.

After this damage, the contractor pulled the ground rod out of the hole and tossed it in his truck in an attempt to cover up what they’ve done. Luckily the supervisor investigating the damage was 6ft5 and noticed the burnt ground rod in the back of the contractor’s truck. The ground rod was put back in the hole for this picture for the damage report.

**Bob at UTA** · May 1st, 2010, 12:33 AM

This is a picture of a downed power lines due to broken poles during an ice storm and in located in the middle of an oil tank farm in Cushing Oklahoma due to our 2008 ice storm. Obvious word of advice, never jump over downed power lines to get to your locating access point…..

**yahoo** · May 1st, 2010, 09:10 PM

i just get real nervous talking about it!!!

**Goldenboy** · May 1st, 2010, 09:46 PM

Nighttime call-outs with down power lines are the worst. I sit in my truck and wait for the all clear that the power has been totally shut down before trying to locate for the new pole to be augered in.

**spencer newson** · August 26th, 2010, 10:45 AM

just recently i was mildly electrocuted when i used direct connection on a street light column turns out there was a damaged power cable nearby, which made 5 columns live, the power company said i was extremely lucky i was'nt killed, in a way i'm glad it was me shocked, and not a child!
i did'nt get hurt, just thrown on my ass and tingling sensation up my arm and across my teeth which has metal backing plates in.
i connected the red lead to column then cliped black to earth spike, and thats when there was a small flash and a pop and then a warm sensation running down my leg into my boot(only joking) but really on a serious note i now carry a voltage meter with me and i always test appliance before connecting up.

**headcipher** · August 26th, 2010, 11:11 AM

I recently had an emergency to repair a sewer main. While I was on site confirming the many different circuits of electric all put in at different times, It was determined that the blockage was directly beneath a switch cabinet. Turns out that the ground rod for the switch went 10 inches into the 16 inch sewer main, It took a couple of years but enough crap built up to cause problems on the line.

**headcipher** · August 26th, 2010, 11:14 AM

One of our guys was knocked on his can after hooking to the grounding bolt on a electric duct below 115 kv lines. Turns out the static charge built up was very high. Some of our substation guys told us that a qwest tech was killed a few years ago from the static charge on a ped just on the border of a substation.

**Dave72** · August 26th, 2010, 10:38 PM

Originally Posted by headcipher

One of our guys was knocked on his can after hooking to the grounding bolt on a electric duct below 115 kv lines. Turns out the static charge built up was very high. Some of our substation guys told us that a qwest tech was killed a few years ago from the static charge on a ped just on the border of a substation.

I learned my lesson in induced current when hooking up a ground in a ped where the telco crossed under a 115k line. Nowdays Ill always grab the sheath connected wire with a set of pliers and strike the ground point with it first. If I see sparks then I go to plan B.

In a different situation, we had a report of tel lines out and smoke coming into a building from a conduit. No smoke by the time the guys got there, and after a little investigating they found some melted cables in a manhole. After alot of shoulder shrugging, the guys went in and fixed up the cables. Details are getting fuzzy now, but I remember being sent there the next day to cut off a cable that went to this abandoned building nearby. The excavator had already ripped things down to bricks on the ground level.. but there plain and day was the electrical feeder sticking out of the ground with the telco and cableco cables all sorta welded to it. The guy in the machine had been driving over and over it (and thats what caused the electrical cross and melt/fire in the manhole).
To think those guys were down there handling the cables while that excavator was feet away from giving it a new jolt..
Hydro had pulled the meter but never did disconnect the feeder for the place before demolition. Yikes..

Ya just never know.

**Drivike** · March 28th, 2011, 07:35 AM

There should be precautions on every deal... And they are all should be in written form and understandable too so that they can be adopted and their likeliness is increased this way.