With the arrival of spring, SaskPower is reminding farmers and construction workers to be aware and take precautions around power lines as they head out to begin work for the season.
“Each year we see hundreds of farm-related line contacts – and the number is still increasing,” said Kevin Schwing, SaskPower Director of Health and Safety. “We saw 327 reported incidents of farm machinery contacting electrical equipment in 2019, which is up slightly from 314 the previous year. There were no reported deaths or injuries in 2019, but sadly this is not often the case.”
Farmers are working hard to complete their work during this critical time of year, however all line contacts can be prevented by taking safety measures. Here are some of the practices SaskPower recommends throughout the season:
• Locate overhead power lines before starting any work and maintain a safe distance. • Lower large equipment like your grain auger, air seeder and air sprayer before moving to prevent contact with overhead lines. • Ger proper rest, drink plenty of water and take breaks throughout the day to prevent fatigue. • Check with SaskPower, SaskEnergy and SaskTel to find out the exact location of underground lines before digging for any reason by calling Sask 1st Call at 1-866-828-4888.
COVID-19 precautions have put SaskPower’s Safety Ambassador program on hold, however the company is taking other measures to get the word out. In addition to a multimedia advertising campaign, SaskPower has collaborated with the University of Saskatchewan-based Canadian Centre for Health and Safety in Agriculture to produce a Farm Electrical Safety Resource brochure. The brochure, which contains important safety information, will be mailed to thousands of Saskatchewan farm families this spring.
For more information on electrical safety, including prevention and steps to take if you hit a power line, go to www.saskpower.com/safety.
