Dominion Virginia Power Urges Caution Near Neighborhood Electrical Lines
RICHMOND, Va. – With warm spring days beckoning
us outside to paint the house, put up gutters or go to the park and fly kites
with the kids, Dominion Virginia Power wants to remind everyone — stay
away from electric power lines.
"Builders, painters and gutter installers
as well as those of us who work around our homes on these weekends need to be
aware of the dangers associated with electricity," said Jay L. Johnson,
president and chief executive officer. "We are simply asking people to
pay attention. Look up. If you are carrying ladders, sections of siding or any
other equipment and it hits an electrical line, you could be severely or even
fatally injured."
Fatal injuries can occur from coming into contact
with as little as 50 volts of electricity. Power lines that run along neighborhood
streets or alleys carry between 13,200 volts to 34,500 volts. Inside your home,
a typical household electrical circuit is 120 volts, which is sufficient to
cause serious injury or death.
Thus far in 2005, Dominion Virginia Power has
been notified of 12 instances in its service area of contractors or homeowners
coming into contact with electrical lines. By comparison, the company reported
36 contacts in 2004 and 38 contacts in 2003.
The most common — and preventable —
instances of equipment coming into contact with electrical lines include metal
or aluminum ladders, paint rollers, sections of gutter, antennas and workers
digging into the ground. Cutting trees or branches and allowing them to fall
into electrical lines has also been a problem.
The U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission
reports there were 411 electrocutions nationwide in 2001, the latest year for
which statistics are available. About 13 percent of all accidental residential
electrocutions were the result of antennas and ladders coming into contact with
overhead power lines. Electrocutions related to household wiring accounted for
another 10 percent.
In Virginia, anyone performing work near an overhead
high-voltage line is required by law to keep a minimum of 10 feet away from
the line, including ladders and tools. Greater distances may be required depending
on the voltage of the line.
Any person who anticipates working in this danger
zone is required by Virginia law to notify the utility to make temporary safety
arrangements. For Dominion Virginia Power, the toll-free number to call is 1-888-667-3000.
Before digging in the ground — be it for trees, shrubs or fences —
people must call Miss Utility at its toll-free number, 1-800-552-7001, so that
the underground cables can be clearly marked.
May is National Electrical Safety Month. For
more detailed information on electrical safety, visit www.dom.com
or the Electrical Safety Foundation International at its Web site, www.esfi.org.
The Web site for Miss Utility is www.missutilityofvirginia.com.
Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers
of energy, with an energy portfolio of about 28,100 megawatts of generation,
about 6 trillion cubic feet equivalent of proved natural gas reserves and 7,900
miles of natural gas transmission pipeline. Dominion also operates the nation's
largest underground natural gas storage system with more than 965 billion cubic
feet of storage capacity and serves retail energy customers in nine states.
For more information about Dominion, visit the company's Web site at www.dom.com.
