Wow!! This year is going so fast and it’s hard to believe spring is back for 2024!
We will all be thinking about tidying up the yard, around the pool and trimming trees around the property.
Spring planting is a job, not a chore in my books so if you are thinking about clearing some space, don’t forget to think about your overhead power lines.
Continuing with our focus on safety I have some great tips from the Electrical Safety Office (ESO) around planting and trimming vegetation.
If you’re planting crops and plants on your property, you should first check for overhead powerlines and avoid planting under or near them. Electricity can jump—a long way, so if you’re using machinery, it’s important to respect exclusion zones around powerlines.
Safety Tips
- Treat all powerlines as live.
- Look at the site and identify hazards.
- Assess the risk of injuring yourself and others.
- Do not allow any part of your body or anything you’re holding or have attached to your body to enter the exclusion zone.
- Do not trim trees or manage vegetation where any part of the tree or vegetation
- is within the exclusion zone. (ESO states, “3 meters is the safe distance from around most power lines”)
- could fall or be carried into the exclusion zone.
Be aware of potentially dangerous situations like:
- wind or wet weather pushing vegetation into the exclusion zone
- hot weather causing powerlines to sag lower
- obstacles preventing safe access
- pruning equipment such as chainsaws kicking back or moving inadvertently
- the boom of an elevating work platform or cherry picker straying into exclusion zones.
Spring is a fabulous time of year, so stay safe and respect the power of what you cannot see!
Continual electrical maintenance and safety is a must for all of us, so if you are unsure of
Anything, please give Paul a ring and he will do his best to give you the right advice.
Happy Spring Planting!