Summer safety reminders

Summer brings many of our favorite times such as being outside and spending time with family and friends. As you find yourself spending more time outside enjoying the longer days, we want to remind you of a few safety tips to ensure everyone stays safe this summer. 

“We want to remind members that our infrastructure such as power lines and pad mounted transformers carry extremely high voltages, and if contact is accidentally made, the results can be dangerous,” says Tyler Schummer, journeyman lineworker. “Here are a few tips to remember when you are spending time outside this summer.” 

• Plan before you plant. If you plan to plant trees or shrubs keep them at least 10 feet away from electric infrastructure such as power poles, power lines and pad mounted transformers (the big green box). This ensures line crews have enough room to safely work in and around our infrastructure if needed.
• Always look up. Before trimming trees, flying kites or working on a roof, be aware of overhead power lines. These activities can pose serious safety risks if contact is made with power lines, potentially causing power outages, injuries or even electrocution.
• Stay away from substation fences. Substations house high-voltage equipment that can be dangerous. Please do not loiter around substations and do not climb substation fences.
• Stay clear of downed power lines. Always assume downed lines are live. Stay at least 35 feet away and report them immediately to the cooperative. 

Your safety is important to us. We hope you keep these safety tips in mind so that you and others can enjoy these summer days. Additionally, follow us on social media at KEM Electric to stay up to date on cooperative information including weather threats and outages.