22 August 2005 00:00 Central Networks issues urgent safety warning after wave of serious cable damages
Central Networks, the electricity distribution company for central England, is today urging farmers, builders and DIYers to use its free CableSafe service after ten serious incidents of people damaging its electricity cables were reported in ten days.
Central Networks, which is part of E.ON UK, have been called out ten times between 6th – 17th August to make urgent repairs and restore customers who were left without power.
Had people contacted CableSafe before starting work, they could have received diagrams of the cabling in the area and a site visit from a Central Networks expert to advise them on how best to dig near cables – all free of charge.
Central Networks CableSafe manager, Graham Coles, said: “It’s truly remarkable that in the last ten days we’ve had so many incidents, some of which have lead to our customers losing their electricity supply. And it’s even more remarkable the workers have not suffered a serious injury or even been killed.
“Our network is robust and safe, but hitting a high voltage cable with a mechanical tool could have had serious consequences.”
In Leicestershire a fencing firm damaged a cable in the city.
In Northamptonshire five cables have been damaged. Three of the cases involved farm workers damaging overhead lines and an electricity pole and the other cases were reported after contractors working for housing developers hit high voltage underground cables.
Three workers in Warwickshire had lucky escapes after hitting cables when putting up new fencing. A worker near Tamworth, one in Nuneaton and one near Rugby all caused local power cuts after putting their digging equipment through a high voltage cable.
Anyone who is digging near Central Networks power cables can contact CableSafe by ringing 0800 0150927 or by visiting www.central-networks.co.uk.
The CableSafe system was first introduced in the East Midlands, where it has reduced third party cable damages by almost 50% in the first quarter of this year.
Ends
Notes to editors:
• Central Networks is the new name for Midlands Electricity and East Midlands Electricity. The company brings power to 4.8 million customers across the East and West Midlands through 133,000km of underground and overhead cables and via almost 97,000 substations;
• Central Networks covers an area from the Peak District in the north to parts of Bristol in the south, and from the Welsh Borders to the Lincolnshire Coast.
For further information contact:
Rebecca Middleton on 024 7642 5779
Out of hours, call 024 7642 4000 and ask for the duty press officer
A selection of Central Networks CableSafe images are available free of charge to the media by registering at www.newscast.co.uk