Electrical Safety – Outdoors

Outdoors | Indoors | Workplace | Farms | Emergency Information

Look up, look down and live! Stay safe by being aware of electricity around you. This includes overhead power lines and poles, pad mounted transformers (big green metal boxes), substations and even unseen underground lines.

Downed Power Lines

• Stay away from downed lines. Never touch anyone or anything that is being shocked or touching the line. If possible, turn the power off. Get help. Call Grant PUD at (509) 754-0500 or call 911.

• If a downed line is touching a vehicle you are in, warn others to stay away and wait for help. Do not touch the metal parts of the vehicle. If you must get out, jump clear with your feet together – never touch the ground and the vehicle at the same time.

• Lightning Storms – Stay inside. If caught outside, go to low ground, crouch down, tuck your head, cover your ears and stay on the balls of your feet. Be as small as you can be and minimize your contact with the ground.

Overhead Lines

• Never touch power lines with anything and do not allow anyone to shoot at poles or lines. A damaged insulator could allow the pole to become energized and cause injury. Check for overhead lines when working outside with ladders, antennas, irrigation pipe, sailboat masts, and long-handled items. Never work within 10 feet of a power line. Do not climb trees near power lines and never climb a utility pole or tower for any reason. Look up and live!

• Do not attach signs and other items to utility poles. This is dangerous for our crews who work on the poles and illegal.

• Kites – Use only 100 percent cotton kite string – never wire or tinsel in your kite or string. Fly kites in open areas free of power lines. When kites touch power lines, electricity may travel down the string right to you. If your kite gets caught in a power line, drop the string and leave it there. Ask an adult to call Grant PUD for help.

Underground Utilities

• Power lines can run under the ground. Washington state law requires anyone digging deeper than 12 inches to call (800) 424-5555 for free locates at least two business days before they dig.

• Those big green metal boxes are actually transformers, which distribute underground electrical power to homes and businesses. It is important to keep an eight-foot clearance in front of the unit and three feet on the other sides. Children should never play near transformers. Grant County PUD asks residents to report unlocked or damaged transformers immediately.

Farm Safety

Electrical safety is an important part of every crop.  When in doubt, call a qualified electrician or Grant PUD when working with electrical equipment.  Voltages from 120 to 480 used with farming equipment can result in serious injury or death.

• Never assume that electrical disconnects have operated properly.  After manually operating a disconnect switch, check it visually and with test equipment to determine if equipment is really de-energized.
• Keep electrical panels clean of debris.  Never blow out your panels with forced air.
• LOOK UP AND LIVE!  Be sure you know where overhead power lines are when operating tall equipment, moving hand line irrigation pipes and stacking hay or other materials near roads.

Other Outdoor Tips

• Stay away from substations. Their high voltage is dangerous. Call us to retrieve anything accidentally thrown over the fence. 

• Tools and extension cords should be designed for outdoor use and used only in outlets equipped with ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCI). These safety devices reduce the risk of electrocution and should be tested periodically.

• Never remove the third prong from a cord. This prong connects with a ground wire to keep you safe.

• Plant safely to avoid overhead lines and electrical equipment in your yard. Grant PUD trims trees and other obstructions interfering with operation or maintenance of utility equipment, but we do not trim trees that interfere with the secondary lines to your home. These are the landowner’s responsibility.

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