A comprehensive review of IEEE guidelines and documents
BY JIM TOMASESKI, IEEE, NESC Main Committee, PAR Electric
Every day, utility workers are risking their lives in work environments that involve high-risk activities such as working at extreme heights, managing or repairing energized high-voltage power systems, transporting dangerous goods, working on suspended access equipment, or the opposite, cramped underground with little ventilation, and mitigating natural disasters.
Although assuring the safety and health of America’s utility workers...
How to guard utility personnel from shock hazards BY JEFF JOWETT, Megger In the power industry, safety is just as important a function as performance. Safety considerations, parameters, and methods of implementation are an integral part of any electrical system. A most important element is the...
How Ontario regulation can improve electrical safety BY BILL KHASHFE, London Hydro According to an Ontario Electrical Safety Report, 35 percent of the province’s electrical-related fatalities in the past 10 years were attributed to power-line contact. Equipment specifications and electric utility...
Line-construction contractors can do their best to train the management, offer safety training and equipment and trust the foremen who are appointed to a job, but it is an inherently dangerous business. Despite all the safeguards, some new linemen say this is what some foremen tell them about...
Removing hazards caused from in-vehicle computing BY SCOTT BALL, Motion Computing No utility company would send a worker out in a truck with a known safety defect. North American electric utilities may not realize, however, that by failing to ensure that computing devices are used safely within...
Battery fires in large-scale energy storage systems (BESS) have raised concerns, but a recent review by the American Clean Power Association (ACP) found that such incidents pose only minor environmental risks. According to a third-party analysis of U.S. battery fires since 2012, these fires did not...
New York State's transition to a clean, zero-emissions energy grid could include up to 8.5 gigawatts (GW) of grid flexibility by 2040, according to a new report from the Brattle Group. This projection, while contingent on achieving ambitious decarbonization goals, illustrates how the state could...
A coalition of large energy consumers and ratepayer advocates has filed a complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), urging the agency to prohibit transmission owners from independently planning "local" transmission projects exceeding 100 kilovolts (kV). The coalition argues...
Lineworkers face numerous risks daily, from respiratory ailments to electrical hazards. These dangers can result in severe injuries, low blood pressure, bleeding, and vomiting. However, by adhering to established safety protocols, contractors and employers can significantly reduce the likelihood of...
Many occupations pose risks to workers, but few match the dangers that linemen face daily. Linemen play a critical role in maintaining and restoring the power grid, often working in extreme weather conditions, at significant heights, and around high-voltage electrical systems. Their work is...
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has rejected a proposal from PJM Interconnection, one of the United States' largest regional transmission organizations, to alter its transmission planning protocol. The decision represents a significant victory for state regulators who had expressed...
