Inspection Detail

Inspection: 106633613 - Ozark Electric Cooperative

Inspection Information - Office: Kansas City Area Office

Investigation Summary

Two power line workers were dispatched to a site in response to complaints from electric utility company customers. They arrived at the scene and traveled to a utility pole where they found an open fuse. They replaced the fuse. Seeing that the lights in two houses came on, the employees believed that they had repaired the power line and started to leave. However, the dispatcher radioed the employees that the company was still receiving complaints about outages on the line. The power line workers returned to the site, noting that lights were out past a certain point. The employees determined that the problem originated at a pad-mounted transformer located at a residence. They went to a different pad-mounted transformer, where they believed that they could deenergize the power line. However, they should have gone to a different transformer or to the pole where they had replaced the fuse to deenergize the line properly. Believing that they had deenergized the power line, the employees went to the problem transformer. They unlocked and opened the hinged transformer case. One of the power line workers crouched in front of the open transformer and began removing a faulty elbow. The other employee was holding a flashlight, and he was touching a fence, the first employee, and the transformer case. The employee working on the elbow touched it against wiring on a Y-elbow, energizing the case of the transformer. An electrical fault occurred; and the employee, realizing he had been burned by the ensuing electric arc, ran from the area and removed his glove. The other employee remained at the transformer, apparently unable to move. He later fell to the side of the transformer, possibly when the fuse at the utility pole opened the circuit. When the first employee realized the power was off, he ran to the assistance of his coworker and pulled him away from the transformer. A bystander administered cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, to no avail. The employee had been electrocuted.

Keywords: BURN, PROTECTIVE GROUNDING, ELECTRICAL, CPR, POWER LINE WORKER, ELECTROCUTED, LOCKOUT, E PTD, ELEC UTILITY WORK, TRANSFORMER