Abstract: An electrical contractor was hired by a local water department to repair rust damage and to paint inside and outside an electrical substation. (The original contractor subcontracted the work to an independent electrical contractor. The independent contractor, who actually performed the work, was an electrician trained to work on high-voltage equipment.) The contractor had completed painting a week or two earlier, but had returned on a Sunday to perform some touch-up work inside the substation doors. Before his arrival, a power failure had occurred. The electric utility had installed a new transformer, and water department employees were getting their equipment back on line when the contractor arrived. There were problems getting the equipment on line. As a result, the employees decided to deenergize the substations so that they could find the problem. The water department employees deenergized one substation then went to the substation where the contractor was working. The contractor had the covers off a cabinet and was getting ready to paint. The water department employees asked the contractor what stations were deenergized, and he replied that the first two were. After the contractor told the employees that he had heard the power come on earlier, the employees walked around the cabinet to check the circuit breaker. As one of them opened the cabinet door, they heard an electric arc. They ran around the cabinet and found the contractor on the floor with what appeared to be electrical test equipment in his hand. He had been electrocuted.