Inspection Detail

Inspection: 316005859 - Nv Energy

Inspection Information - Office: Nv-E-Las Vegas 0953220

Investigation Summary

At approximately 4:30 p.m. on September 28, 2012, Employee #1 was working as an electrician's apprentice for NV Energy in Las Vegas, Nevada. He and two coworkers formed an electrical maintenance crew that had been called out to check and repair a faulty capacitor bank. The capacitors were referred to as "Kyles," as they were devices sold by the Kyle power systems product division of Cooper Industries or their equivalents. When the three workers arrived at the location, they diagnosed the three Kyles. The first coworker was a lead line worker. He was positioned at the power controls. The second coworker was a journeyman line worker. He was positioned outside the box containing the capacitors. Employee #1 went into the capacitor bank so that he could remove the faulty Kyle when it was determined which one was bad. The lead line worker was at the controls. His job was to deenergize each Kyle individually. Once a Kyle was deenergized, Employee #1 was to check to see if that particular Kyle was faulty. The "B" Kyle was found to be faulty, and Employee #1 went to remove it. He did not know that it had been reenergized. When he came into contact with it, Employee #1 received an electrical shock. The electricity went through his hand and exited his left foot. His coworkers came to his aid and called emergency services. Employee #1 was transported to the University Medical Center (UMC) Hospital in Las Vegas, where the medical staff determined that he had sustained "life altering" injuries. His recovery was ongoing when the narrative was written.

Keywords: ELECTRICAL, EMERGENCY RESPONSE, POWER LINE WORKER, ELECTRICAL TESTING, CAPACITOR, E PTD, ELEC CIRC PART--MISC, ELEC UTILITY WORK, ELECTRIC SHOCK, ELECTRICAL BOX