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Essential Safety Tips

Transpower New Zealand attaches great importance to ensuring public safety around transmission lines and substations. High-voltage electricity is hazardous, but Transpower maintains its transmission lines to a high standard of safety and reliability. As long as lines, towers, and substations are treated with caution, they are not dangerous to the public.

Your co-operation is needed to ensure that the precautions taken for your safety by Transpower are effective.

• Treat all lines as live at all times
• Always report any unsafe activity you see to 0800 THE GRID
• Never climb transmission towers (pylons), poles or other structures
• Do not attempt to enter a substation switchyard
• Do not touch or go near a fallen wire (conductor)
• Do not light fires under or near lines without first discussing it with Transpower or the local network company
• Do not fly kites or model aeroplanes near lines
• Use extreme care when handling long metal objects such as pipes or ladders near lines
• Use extreme care when running out or straining fence wires near lines Always check for power lines where fence wires may be pulled under tension, such as across gullies
• Use extreme care when moving or using boats with masts, cranes, diggers, scaffolding, work platforms or buckets (cherry pickers) or any other tall objects near transmission lines. Such items must be kept at least 4 metres away from the conductors
• Do not sail or launch boats with tall masts under lines
• Do not connect metallic objects like fence wires or clothes lines to transmission structures
• Do not build, excavate, dump or stockpile fill or plant trees close to a transmission line. See the Landowners and Occupiers booklet for detailed information
  Remember! Electricity can jump from transmission line wires (conductors). You do not have to touch them to be killed - just being close can be dangerous! Always keep yourself or anything you are touching at least four metres away from the lines
• Pilots - always be aware of transmission lines and other overhead wires when using helicopters, aerial topdressing aircraft and microlights
• If you are working near power lines - farming, building, operating machinery and so on - you are required by health and safety legislation to control the risks and ensure your own safety and that of others.