May 14, 2018

May 14-20 is Powerline Safety Week. Halton Hills Hydro is proud to participate with the Electrical Safety Authority in promoting safety and awareness of the dangers of overhead powerlines through Powerline Safety Week.

What You Can Do: 7 Essential Powerline Safety Tips:

• Look up, look out and locate powerlines when cleaning eavestroughs and windows, working on the roof, painting the house or pruning trees. Always have a signaler – someone who can watch to make sure you stay at least 3 metres. You don’t have to touch a powerline to receive a deadly shock. Electricity can jump or “arc” to you or your tools if you get too close.
• Carry ladders horizontally, never vertically, and check for overhead powerlines before putting them up.
• Keep away from electrical transmission and distribution lines, and never climb utility poles. Always obey the safety signs. If a toy ends up inside a transformer station, call our office – don’t try to retrieve it yourself.
• Call or click before you dig! Powerlines are not only found above ground, they can also be buried beneath it. Before you start construction on a deck, or fence, make sure you call or click before you dig. It’s the law – and it’s free. Ontario One Call (On1Call.com)
• Plant trees away from overhead powerlines so they don’t grow up into the powerlines. If your trees have grown into the powerlines, contact Halton Hills Hydro or a utility arborist. Do not trim trees around powerlines yourself. Learn more about planting around or under power lines here.
• Watch for downed powerlines – if you see one stay back 10 metres or 33 feet (the length of a school bus) and call 911 and Halton Hills Hydro immediately.
• Talk to your kids about powerline safety and help them find safe places to play, away from utility poles and powerlines. Choose wide-open spaces to fly kites, and never attempt to retrieve a kite or any other object that is tangled in a powerline. Remind children never to climb trees near powerlines and make sure they take a close look since leaves and branches can hide the wires. The green boxes on lawns or in parks are also off-limits.

Remember to #RespectThePower. For more powerline safety tips, visit www.esasafe.com.