Electric Consumer

Play it safe — FAR FROM ELECTRICAL STUFF!

Electric co-op mascot Willie Wiredhand says play it safe … by NOT playing on or around these green, pad-mounted transformers.

May is National Electrical Safety Month — a time we especially want readers of all ages to be aware of some of the dangers that exist if you do not respect the modern marvel of electricity.

Electricity comes to your home through a system of power lines, poles, substations and other equipment. Each part has its job bringing electricity from power plants where it’s generated to your wall outlets.

Never play on or near any of this equipment. That includes utility poles, guy wires, substations and pad-mounted transformers — those green boxlike things you see in many suburban neighborhoods. They are for buried power lines. Just because they might sit between your yard and your neighbor’s doesn’t mean it’s something to play around or on.

APRIL 2008 TIP: Stay in the car! STAY IN THE CAR!

Electric co-op mascot Willie Wiredhand says STAY IN THE CAR if your car hits a utility pole. Call for help and wait till you get an OK from an electric lineman or a trained rescuer before stepping out.

If you’re ever riding in a car and for any reason it leaves the road and hits a utility pole, do you know what to do? The answer: STAY IN THE CAR!

Your first instinct may be to get out and see if everyone’s OK, but you can’t do that when you hit a utility pole. Don’t open the doors; don’t step outside. Your life may depend on it. Warn those you are with to stay in the car, too!

The reason? Power lines may have fallen and could still be energized.

Overhead power lines are tightly mounted atop poles. But whenever a car or a truck strikes a pole, power lines can break loose and fall to the ground.

They could fall on your car or drop nearby. If you get out, you could become the path to ground for the electricity. It could go through you and kill you. Or, you could brush up next to a fallen power line, or step on one; they are hard to see, especially if it’s dark. Fallen power lines can even energize the ground nearby.

Please stay inside your car. You’ll be safe there. Call 9-1-1 on a cell phone or yell to others to get help. Tell others to stay away until the electric linemen come to make sure the lines are clear and safe. Then you can get out.

Only in the rare case of fire should you try to get out. Then look for a safe place and leap clear from the car — never touching the ground and the car at the same time. Then bunny hop with feet together away from the pole to safety. You hop with feet together or shuffle away so that — should the ground be energized by a line — one foot doesn’t fall into a different voltage zone than the other.

(Electricity spreads out through the ground like ripples like a pebble dropped in water. The voltage is highest in the ring closest to where the power line is touching the ground and decreases with distance.)

Also, if you ever come upon an accident involving a utility pole, do not leave your vehicle to approach the scene. Again, downed power lines are hard to see and you could walk right into one, or they could be energizing the ground and you could be shocked just walking toward the accident.

Here’s a link to an animated safety tip on the same subject.

MARCH 2008 TIP: Go fly a kite — safely!

Electric co-op mascot Willie Wiredhand knows how to fly his kite — in an open field far away from power lines!

If someone tells you to “go fly a kite” this spring, take him up on the suggestion. Kite flying is a lot of fun. Only be sure to do so SAFELY.

ALWAYS fly your kite in an open field far away from overhead power lines.

Power lines are high on poles for a reason: to keep people away from them. They carry 7,200 volts and that can kill anyone who contacts them.

When you’re flying a kite, the string you hold could make contact. That would allow electricity to flow down the string to you.

Also remember:
• If your kite ever does drift or fall toward a power line, let go of the string.
• Call your electric cooperative if your kite ever gets hung up on a pole or a power line. Never get it yourself.
• If your kite gets hung up in a tree, make sure there are no power lines running through or near the tree before you try to get the kite down.


^{Willie Wiredhand ©NRECA}