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What is Step and Touch Potential?

While performing energized or de-energized line work, there are many opportunities for a line worker to encounter differences in electrical potential. Opportunities could include working near bucket trucks, underground gear, overhead switches, or in substations. When a difference in potential occurs across a worker’s body, current begins to flow. This current flow can be very hazardous as it only takes 50 to 60mA to become possibly lethal. These differences in potential can be categorized as step and touch potential. Step potential is defined as a difference in electrical potential between a worker’s feet and touch potential can be between a worker’s hands or hands and feet.

Guy deadends are the connection between guy wire and anchor in a down guy application and must be sufficiently strong to exceed the rated breaking strength of the strand. A one-half inch diameter guy strand rated for 26,900 pounds is considered the threshold from distribution to transmission guying that would require a high-tension guy.

Hubbell Adjust-A-Grip® guy deadends offer the ease of installation and the performance that is critical for high tension terminations associated with transmission towers and antenna structures.

Energized line maintenance is a popular option for working on power lines. Two common methods for hot work include rubber gloving and hotsticking. These two work methods will utilize both primary and secondary levels of protection from energized lines and equipment. Live line barehand is another work method for working on energized lines and equipment but will not be discussed in this blog. This blog will discuss the differences between primary and secondary protection while using the rubber gloving or hotsticking work methods.

What should utilities do in a situation where they are having an animal-caused outage issue and do not know where to start when they are planning to install a new substation?

An animal-caused outage mitigation mindset must exist within all levels of a utility’s asset management process in order to completely manage the issue (see Figure 5). Utilities need to look internally to all of their processes to understand where there are examples of practices that work well and should be reinforced and also recognize areas of opportunity. Detailed in this section is a high-level review of the areas that should be reviewed, analyzed, understood, improved upon or implemented, when necessary, to support the drive toward zero animal-caused outages.

There are few jobs that are more dangerous than that of a utility lineworker. A commitment to safety is of utmost importance, both in the design of tools and equipment and in the training given to understand how to use them properly.

There are many choices and considerations with regards to deploying OSP broadband infrastructure today. Determining what type of underground enclosures to support that infrastructure can seem overwhelming with all of the solutions offered by multiple manufacturers. This article will help provide guidance on navigating through some of those product selection choices.

Animal-caused electric outages, like all other outages, can cause direct and consequential damage (such as business interruption) to electric utility facilities, C&I customers, residential utility customers and critical public facilities.

Hard Plastic vs. Rubber Cover-Up Equipment

Deciding which cover-up equipment is best for the job depends on several factors, including the system voltage, types of energized equipment, and work methods (rubber gloving vs. hotsticking).

The growing reliance on energy and the implications of its interruption in residential homes, commercial and industrial (“C&I”) facilities, and government agencies places an increasing burden on utilities to provide a more reliable power supply than ever experienced in the history of the electric system (see Figure 1).

Meet Kevin Mabie, Northeast Territory Manager, as he discusses his communications industry outlook for the next five years - and how increased access to fiber bandwidth will help drive future growth to rural areas.