Hydro One Networks Inc. and Gregory Diebold, a supervisor, have been fined a combined total of $262,000 after a worker was critically injured at a construction site in Wingham, Ont.
Hydro One pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that work performed on or near electrical transmission or distribution systems was performed in accordance with section 132 of the Electrical Utility Safety Rules as required by section 181 of Ontario Regulation 213/91. As a result, Hydro One was fined $250,000.
The supervisor pleaded guilty to failing to take every reasonable precaution to prevent hazards to workers from energized electrical equipment, installations and conductors, as required by section 183 of the Regulation. As a result, Diebold was fined $12,000.
On Sept. 25, 2022, two workers were installing 21-inch copper leads on a three-phase 44 kilovolt power line. They were working from a double-bucket insulated boom truck.
The power line they were working on was de-energized. A single rural 4.8 kilovolt power line below them was still live and a cover-up barrier was not applied. The distance between the power lines was about 20.5 feet.
As one of the workers handed the end of a copper lead to the other, they lost their grip and dropped their end of the lead. The second worker was holding the other end of the lead when it made contact with the live power line below, causing a critical injury.
A Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development investigation found several failures with respect to section 132 of the Electrical Utility Safety Rules (EUSR), including:
- The job planners failed to complete a work plan identifying the hazards at this specific work location.
- The job planners, including the supervisor, did not account for the lead lengths and line heights when assessing the distance between the top of the insulated bucket down to the energized line.
- The single rural 4.8 kilovolt power line was not covered or controlled.
Furthermore, the supervisor had been identified on the job plan as a designated observer, but because the work was being done more than three feet away from the lower, energized rural line, they believed a designated observer was not required.
Original author: OHS Canada [Jan. 16, 2025]
Original source: https://www.ohscanada.com/power-company-and-supervisor-fined-262000-total-after-critical-workplace-injury/
