Line Clearance in the rain

[Ogopogo]

I'm most of the way through the EHAP program and i feel pretty well-versed in electrical equipment and the hazards involved, but nothing in the EHAP book covers the question: Is it safe to perform line clearance in the rain?

The work would involve burners (branch tips in direct contact with 12Kv lines). Work would be done from an insulated bucket truck using a non-conductive pole-pruner with an insulator in the pole pruner's cord/rope.

Nobody at my company has ever asked or definitively answered this question. We aren't planning on proceeding with the work until we feel confident but we're having trouble tracking down the facts.

 

[Ogopogo]

So.........I found a couple of paragraphs from the ANSI standards that pertain to line clearance in adverse weather conditions, but they aren't specific to rain. they say:

"Line clearance operations shall be suspended when adverse weather conditions or emergency conditions develop involving electrical involving energized electrical conditions"

not too specific but anyways.......heres another

"Line clearance shall not be performed during adverse weather conditions such as thunder-storms, high winds, snow and ice-storms"

all of those make sense to me, but heavy rain is not specifically mentioned

last one:

"a rope that is wet, that is contaminated to the extent that it's insulating capacity is impaired or that is otherwise not to be considered insulated for the voltage involved may not be used near energized lines"

I'm going to go ahead and include pole-pruner cord with that one because it would apply, i don't know how the insulator (it's a14" fiberglass section in the cord) in our cord stacks up with that

I know you aren't supposed to use booms/tools that are greasy or dirty near energized lines because their insulating ability is compromised, but i don't know how water fits into that. water definitely conducts electricity

i've also heard that non-conductive tools are void when wet

 

[Shaun Bowler]

I have stopped my crew from working around HV due to the tree and conditions.
Big Cypress. Full of water after a big rain.
The limb to be removed(lowered) passed within 10 feet of the wires.
The amount of water that would have been displaced from the limb to the wires, in my opinion, could have jumped from the water to the limb to the climber, to the roper.
I recently received an email regarding a firefighter who turned off a decapatated fire hydrantant that was spraying down/up into HV wires.
He was lucky.
Nevertheless, PGE/OSHA has begun an investigation into the incident.

 

[Labman]

The orange trucks in my neighborhood all last summer disappeared when it rained.

 

[Ogopogo]

alright....., so i looked through the ehap book again. The book lists the OSHA standards. one of the OSHA standards is that you cannot use wet pole tools near electrical conductors. thats good enough for me until I hear something official and very compelling arguing the other way.

 

[lfnh]

qualified clearance trimmer osha reg here

There is a clause here that identifies insulating equipment which leads here

Back in the day, company policy for clearance trimming was no line work
in lightning, rain, snow, ice, high wind (swinging conductors), very high humidity. Usually had plenty of maintenance for paid ground down time.
Normal weather hot sticks or insulated floppers were used to remove
burning branches (still have to watch minimum working distance to phases).

Emergency clearance (during/after storm) was only allowed with onsite
utility line crew boss and utility line safety boss that Verified lines in
section were off AND not being back fed by a unknown generator.

Where is Rope ?
He can give better detail on the regs....

fwiw

 

[lxt]

well here is the thing! I have worked Line clearance for better part of 24yrs & when I first started we had an inclement weather clause in our contract...........Basically no work in rain! & any other conditions that would cause or increase "hazardous in-direct contact"

That was when time & material was the bid practice............forward into my career about 6-7yrs & whalla....bid practice changed to firm bid, spans, units, footage, PBI, etc.... & this is when the companies bullied everyone into working in the rain, cuz if you go home....not only do you not get paid but neither does the company not to mention it puts them behind on the contract then they get penalized???? supposedly!

So, at one point in my career it was totally unsafe to work in the rain & anyone who did got reported to the union (disciplined) then all of a sudden....its perfectly safe to work in the rain!!! LOL, I remember calling the IBEW main office in a down pour, I was told to trim an arcing 23kv line....get it clear I was told.....or someone else will & you can go home...always another monkey to replace ya (as I was told) any way I asked the rep if he was dry & how good is that powdered dohnut you`re eating...........cuz im out here in the *&^&ing rain ####head trimming round 23kv

yep, this went over real well, most line companies are in bed with the electric company/Union........so its we the workers put in harms way for the greedy companies who want more production than humanly possible!!



good luck on the EHAP test & be safe out there!!!!




LXT................

 

[2chops]

Our company did line clearance for 10 years, till Dec. Of '09. We always worked in the rain. One time we had 3" come down during the work day. Kept on goin. We were told by PPL that our only restriction was on working if it was lightening. The individual crews could call it off if we wanted to. But otherwise we just slogged through it.