Power company fined £1m after runner electrocuted

[Social Integrator]

A company which maintains the power distribution supplies to London, the South East and East of England has been fined £1million after a runner was electrocuted by a low-hanging high voltage power cable.

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[Badger]

The network operator in question could have prevented this completely

 

[Sharpend]

The runner could have avoided the cable, it was 1.5m at its lowest point?? How did he not see it?? Surely the sensible thing to do is look to see where it has fell from, after all it's not every day you see such a large cable strewn across the pathway? 

 

[Sidewinder]

The DNO should have prevented this from happening, hence the value of the penalties.

The runner may have well seen it and just thought that he could throw it out of his way when he was running, why note.

At that level is should have been safe, however, it seems it was not, so the DNO was criminally negligent as has been found by the court.

Nothing can bring the innocent runner back to life.

I don't think it would have been that large, and why should he have realised that it was not insulated.

This is a catalogue of errors from the DNO which put the general public at risk, this should not be happening in the name of profit, which is what is occurring.

The DNO's should be maintaining their network with safety and reliability above shareholder profit, however, this is not the case and it is a disgusting abuse of the UK users, for profit to be channeled into private companies, which, should be criminal and this judgement is a good start.

 

[apprentice87]

Exactly.. Why should someone assume that a piece of cable across a path is at 11kv and will certainly kill them.

Just read the article... It gets worse... The DNO had been TOLD about the cable but CHOSE to do nothing. Those responsible should be jailed.

john..

 

[Andy™]

the overhead cables are probably steel lines, visually similar to many other steel ropes, so whilst he may well have seen it, he could have assumed it was just a bit of steel rope. you wouldnt expect a 11kv uninsulated cable across the path

if the DNO were not aware then nothing they could have done, but they were informed of it so it should have been immediately isolated whilst someone was on their way to investigate

 

[misssweden]

The average person probably doesn't even know the difference between an overhead power line and a BT cable, let alone the different voltages. He might have thought that he'd be safe if he didn't touch it, but it arced. 

 

[Sidewinder]

Well said missweden, I quite agree.

However, it did more than arc, it killed him!

Appalling

 

[Sharpend]

fair play to you all, I guess I was looking at it with my blinkered sparks eyes :C  

i do agree that it seems absurd that the dno knowing that it were down didn't actually isolate for repair.