Installing New Wiring in Your Home

Installing New Wiring in Your Home

Follow these Safety Procedures When Dealing With Faulty Power Lines

by June Alvarez

Everyone understands that it is essential to stay as far as possible from energised power lines. However, when a power line gets damaged from trees falling on it, vehicles hitting the power poles and other damages, the electrical repair professionals have to get things back in order so that the supply of electricity to the area can be restored. Both the residents of the place affected and the electrical repair experts need to practice a lot of caution around damaged power lines. Here are the safety tips which you can follow when dealing with broken power lines.

Understand the possible hazards

The first and most essential step in the process is that you need to understand the safety hazards which are connected with handling the damaged power lines. Some of the dangers that you will be facing include:

  • The possibility of falling from heights
  • The chance of getting electrocuted by touching energised lines or trees in contact with them
  • Burns from fires resulting from the downed power lines

There might be other dangers associated with the process, depending on the scene. An assessment will help you map out all the possible risks before you start any work.

De-energising the power lines

The second step should be to call the power company and report the incident. Their first cause of action will be to de-energise the power lines and use additional protection measures to restrict access to the scene such as barricades and ground insulation. If the power line damage has happened across a highway, traffic could be diverted to routes which do not have the same damage. After the area has been secured, the damage will be assessed, and the repair procedure will start.

Wearing proper gear

The restoration process will involve climbing up the poles to access the power lines connected up there. Anyone climbing up the poles will be expected to wear the right protective gear which includes gloves with sleeves, insulated boots, helmets to protect them from possible injuries due to falls and several others. Protective eyewear is also recommended to make sure that sparks flying from the short-circuiting does not hurt their eyes.

Finally, anyone who handles the installation and repair of power lines needs to be trained on the safety measures they should follow when installing, repairing and generally working around overhead power lines. As long as these precautions are followed, the repair process will run without incidents.

For more information and assistance, contact your local civil electrical work company. 


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About Me

Installing New Wiring in Your Home

Hello! My name is Joanna and this is my electrical DIY and repair blog. I decided to start this new blog so I could help others to learn about easy DIY jobs they can complete around their homes. It is also important to understand when it is time to call in a professional electrical contractor. When I moved into an old property, I didn't have a clue about the electrical side of things. I was really worried because the lights would flicker and sometimes the sockets would feel warm. I called in an electrical contractor and he helped me to get the place repaired and gave me some fantastic advice.

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