Inspection Detail

Inspection: 108866351 - Oklahoma Gas & Electric Services

Inspection Information - Office: Oklahoma City Area Office

Investigation Summary

A metropolitan area received extensive wind damage from a storm, with 175,000 customers losing electric power. In their effort to restore power, line crews had been working 20-hour shifts with 4- to 8-hour rest periods for 3.5 days. A crew of four employees just off 8 hours of rest was dispatched to a residential area. Half of the crew, a power line worker and his foreman, arrived at a utility pole where a fuse was mounted. The line worker noted the fuses but did not notice that one was still in place. When the other two crew members arrived, the employees discussed the work to be done. The foreman climbed a utility pole on the fuse side of the break in the line. He then donned rubber insulating gloves and tested for voltage. The results of the test were inconclusive. In the meantime, the power line worker climbed another pole. Although the foreman warned him that the line might be energized, the power line worker did not don his electrical protective equipment. When the foreman started to splice the line conductor, the power line worker was electrocuted.

Keywords: ELEC PROTECT EQUIP, OVERHEAD POWER LINE, PROTECTIVE GROUNDING, ELECTRICAL, POWER LINE WORKER, ELECTROCUTED, LOCKOUT, E PTD, ELEC UTILITY WORK, ELECTRIC SHOCK