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Utility electrocutions got state lawmakers’ attention Aug. 6 after years of drilling down on gas pipe explosions with unequal focus on the safety of the power distribution system. The legislative inquiry marked the first time state lawmakers in recent memory have examined the safety of the electricity distribution system, said Hill who chaired a hearing on the subject in the Senate Subcommittee on Gas & Electric Infrastructure Safety. Since 2003, California investor-owned utility power lines have killed 150 people, including workers and members of the public. That’s more than high profile gas pipe explosions have killed, according to a subcommittee report (see shorts). Downed lines have injured another 413 since 2003, according to the document. One of the latest fatalities occurred May 14 when Whittier resident Juan Nieves went into his backyard after hearing an explosion early one morning. He was electrocuted by a downed power line. he hearing marks growing concern about utility safety in California. Safety inadequacies became evident in 2010 when a Pacific Gas & Electric pipeline explosion killed eight and leveled a neighborhood in San Bruno. That shook up state utilities and the California Public Utilities Commission, forcing them to devote more resources to safety. Initially, the commission focused on natural gas safety, but now it’s turning to electric safety too, said Elizaveta Malashenko, agency deputy director of utility safety and reliability. She said 13 staff members now focus on electric safety exclusively and for the first time the commission is performing safety risk analysis of Southern California Edison’s power distribution system in conjunction with the utility’s general rate case. Overhead power lines come down due to a variety of causes, including mylar balloons and animals hitting lines, causing them to short out and melt, cars driving into poles, and extreme weather, said Don Neal, Southern California Edison director of environmental health and safety. Design and maintenance factors, such as the number of splices in lines, also play a role, said Neal and other utility executives. Neal emphasized that prevention, detection of weaknesses, and public education concerning the hazards of downed lines all are key to public safety. While data is not centralized or complete concerning power system safety incidents, observed Hill, lines do come down often. The subcommittee’s report for the hearing tallied 6,748 downed lines that local fire departments responded to in 2012 alone. Neal said utilities believe that improved distribution monitoring equipment can help them pinpoint and respond to downed lines more quickly, as well as do a better job of automatically shutting off power. Right now, most of the monitors and relays in place are not capable of automatically shutting off power when a line comes down, he said. Pacific Gas & Electric, which serves dense areas in downtown San Francisco and Oakland with underground distribution grids, is busy installing locking manhole covers on electric vaults to prevent them from blowing out when transformers fail. G&E vice president of asset management Pat Hogan explained that the new locking covers allow gases to vent when transformers blow out, but do not allow oxygen to rush into vaults and cause fires. PG&E has put in 2,500 of the locking covers and plans to install more. Concern grew about the hazards of electrical vaults after Redwood City resident Lisa Nash was burned over half her body while walking to work when an underground PG&E transformer blew out in 2005 sparking a fire in downtown San Francisco. Hill suggested that his committee may hold additional hearings on the safety of the power distribution system, but did not say when. He also did not mention if he was contemplating any legislation.

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