| Underground
Power Line Safety Call before you dig! Call any one of the
following toll free numbers and they will notify local utilities:
- Texas Excavation Safety System 1-800-344-8377
- Texas One-Call Systems 1-800-245-4545
- Lone Star Notification Center 1-800-669-8344
Overhead Power
Line Safety
While the
Cooperative takes great care to place power lines out of reach, people can come
in close proximity to them during some activities. Please read the following information
as
it could save your life.
Also, teach
children these basic electricity safety rules.
- All power lines can be dangerous
- Some area lines
are 138,000
volts
- Lines outside
homes are commonly over 7,000 volts
-
No insulation.
Most overhead lines have no insulation.
-
Look up!
Be aware of overhead power lines and how electricity will use
you as a pathway to
ground.
-
Be careful with tall objects.
Use extreme care when moving ladders, trimming trees, installing antennas, or
doing other activities involving tall objects
(see
Overhead Line Clearance standards)
-
Play safe.
Keep kites, model airplanes and other toys
away from lines. If a kite becomes tangled in wires, do not try to remove it.
-
Lines in trees.
Before
climbing a tree check for overhead wires running near or
through limbs. If lines are present, do not climb
the tree for any reason.
Take
Special Care When Dealing with Trees
Tree limbs that grow
into power lines may carry an electrical current. Do not attempt to remove them
yourself. Long-handled pruning tools, especially ones made of
metal, are extremely hazardous around power lines. The cooperative maintains a tree-trimming program to
prevent power outages, but we can't catch them all.
Contact the Cooperative if you need a tree limb removed that is near a line.
Downed
Overhead Power Lines May Be Energized
If you encounter a
downed power line, do not approach it, warn others, and
contact the
Cooperative or law enforcement immediately.
-
Always assume a downed power line is energized
and therefore dangerous. A downed power line that is energized may not spark
or snap. But it can kill.
-
Never touch an object that is in direct
contact with a downed power line,
including a car, tree, fence or another person. Electricity can travel through
objects that are in contact with a power line.
Vehicles
and Power Lines
-
If your tractor, truck or other vehicle comes
into contact with a power line, stay on board to remain safe. Be sure to warn
others to stay away from the area.
-
If the equipment is operable and can be moved
out of contact without doing additional damage to the line or poles, do so.
-
As long as the vehicle is in contact with a
line, do not step off.
-
If you must get off because of fire or another
emergency, jump clear of the vehicle with both feet together, making sure that
you are never in contact with the equipment and the ground at the same time.
Once off the equipment, hop away, keeping both feet together.
If you
have other questions about power line safety contact the
Cooperative.
-
Bandera, Tarpley, Medina, Pipe
Creek and Medina Lake areas
830-796-3741
-
Comfort, Center Point, Kerrville
and Boerne areas
830-995-2824
-
Leakey, Hunt, Utopia and Vanderpool areas
830-232-5524
-
Toll free (all areas),
1-866-BANDERA (226-3372)
(Note: see our links page for
information about lightning safety,
electric safety,
food safety and
disaster relief) |
