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Utility Safety Standards


Fall Protection Becomes Mandatory

New regulation removes “optional” to increase worker safety BY CRAIG FIRL, Capital Safety The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published updated rules and regulations in April 2014 that impact fall protection for the electrical utility industry. These new regulations,...

Ugh, Why So Much HSE Paper?

With the advent of our modern health, safety and environmental systems (HSE), the requirement to produce more documents is relentless. No one feels this pressure more than our front line supervision; those individuals, who are leading our crews out in the field. Not only are they tasked with...

Hand Safety - Protective Gloves

Rubber insulating gloves are among the most important articles of personal protection for electrical workers. To be effective, the gloves must incorporate high dielectric and physical strength, along with flexibility and durability. For superior performance they should meet and/or exceed the...

Utility Safety Standards

workers safety

How to Prevent Struck-By and Backover Incidents

Struck-by, struck-against and back-over incidents are far too common:

  • 421 Hudson St., Manhattan, NYC: Construction worker killed by scaffolding plank.
  • Woods Hole Golf Club, Falmouth, MA: Construction worker injured in back-over accident.
  • Interstate 440-East, Raleigh, NC: DOT workers seriously injured when motorist crashed into highway maintenance truck.

They can happen any place at any time, which is why they’re so difficult to prevent. Contributing factors to struck-by incidents include:

  • Poor visibility when working at night...

Related Articles


Linemen safety PPE

Hand Safety - Protective Gloves

Rubber insulating gloves are among the most important articles of personal protection for electrical workers. To be effective, the gloves must incorporate high dielectric and physical strength, along with flexibility and durability. For superior performance they should meet and/or exceed the...

Worker Safety Using Infrared

Infrared safety: using thermal technologies to protect workers BY DOUG BARRY, FLIR Systems Disconnect switches, elbow connectors, cutouts, lightning arrestors, oil-filled circuit breakers, and other electrical components tend to heat up before they fail. The ability to detect overheating on such...

Distracted Driving Equals Disaster

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...

Electrical Hazard Protection

How to reduce dangers while providing preventive maintenance data BY FINLEY LEDBETTER, Group CBS, Inc. While most discussions about avoiding electrical hazards focus on personal protective equipment (PPE), utility workers have a number of ways to protect themselves and their gear, including...


New York's Path to 8.5 GW of Grid Flexibility by 2040

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...

FERC Complaint Targets Duke, PJM Transmission Planning

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...

Texas PUC Shelves $1B Grid Credit Mechanism

The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) has unanimously decided to shelve the proposed $1 billion Performance Credit Mechanism (PCM) for power generators, concluding that it would not deliver the anticipated grid reliability benefits. The PCM was conceived as a means to incentivize power...

How Dangerous is Linemen Work?

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...

North Carolina Town Sues Duke Energy for Climate Fraud

A small town in North Carolina has filed a lawsuit against Duke Energy, one of the largest utility companies in the United States, alleging that the company has been deceptive in its efforts to downplay the environmental impact of its operations. The lawsuit, filed by the town of Smithfield, claims...

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FERC Approves Interconnection for Talen Energy, Amazon Data Center

In a significant move that underscores the growing demand for reliable and sustainable energy to power the expanding digital infrastructure, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has approved an interconnection agreement between Talen Energy, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Exelon. This...

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