KEC
Generator Safety: Our Lives are on the Line A Message From Your C.E.O. Joe Harris
KEC is proud of our out- standing safety record, but sometimes, no matter how many steps we take to keep everyone safe, the very people we are there to help unknow- ingly put our lives—and their own—in danger.
Portable generators, widely used when power lines are down, can prove fatal to line- workers and your neighbors when used improperly. In 2005, a lineman died in
The safety of you, our members, and our employees
is a top priority at Kay Electric Cooperative, especially during dangerous times. When storms hit our area, we rush to your aid as soon as weather conditions allow our lineworkers to travel and make repairs safely. Our line crews take neces- sary precautions before they work on downed power lines. First, they verify a circuit has been de-energized, and that proper switches are opened and tagged to isolate the cir- cuit from the system. We place ground chains on the circuit— on both sides of workers—to make sure the line cannot be energized while work’s being done.
But even after these mea- sures, our workers’ lives remain in your hands.
4 • Kay Electric Cooperative
Flomaton, Ala., when he con- tacted a power line that was energized by an improperly installed generator. Forty-one- year-old Ronnie Adams of Winterville, Ga., was working to restore power after Hurricane Dennis. He was married and had two teenage children. Of course, no one would ever purposely cause the death of a lineworker. Nevertheless, a generator connected to a home’s wiring or plugged into a regular household outlet can cause backfeeding along power lines and electrocute any- one who comes in contact with them—even if the line seems dead. And KEC em- ployees are not
the only ones in danger when a portable generator is used improperly. Generator owners themselves may be at risk of electrocution, fire injury, proper- ty damage, or carbon monoxide poisoning if they do not follow the necessary safety rules. Portable generators can be very helpful to consumers dur- ing outages. But we urge you to follow these safety guidelines when using one:
• Never connect a generator directly to your home’s wiring unless your home has been wired for generator use. This can cause backfeeding along power lines and electrocute anyone coming in contact with them, including linework- ers making repairs. Have a licensed electrician install the equipment necessary to safely connect emergency generators to your home.
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