Electrical installation safety
There are hazards lurking in the immediate vicinity of electrical installation installations (both power lines and stations) that must be taken into account during construction, excavation, forestry, and agricultural work. Making fire is strictly prohibited!
Potential hazards in the immediate vicinity of high-voltage overhead lines must also be taken into account when organising events.
For Elering, ensuring safety when operating and working in or near our installations is of the utmost importance! That is why we have developed mandatory safety requirements and are constantly contributing to organising safety campaigns, in cooperation with other network undertakings or on our own, to raise awareness of risks.
In order to ensure the safety and protection of electrical installations, restrictions have been imposed on the use of land, which means that the landowner is obligated to tolerate the technical infrastructure and has the right to apply for Toleration fee.
Always obtain Elering’s prior approval for any planned activities in the protection zone!
In case of an emergency or threat of an emergency, call Elering at 605 6825 or the Rescue Board at 112.
Elering has developed appropriate safety requirements for working in electrical installations and their protection zones, compliance with which is mandatory. The requirements have been developed based on the standard EN50110, which sets out safety requirements for the operation of electrical installations and work carried out in, on or near electrical installations.
According to the safety requirements, every person present in an electrical installation must have received safety training, and there are additional requirements for safety qualification when organising work.
To protect electrical installations and ensure safety, a protection zone has been established for each installation, with various restrictions on operations within it. In addition to the restrictions, we ask you to always consider the possible hazards arising from high-voltage electrical installations.
Also read the notes for those operating in the protection zone for power lines!
The notes for those operating in the protection zone for power lines (in estonian)
Warning!
If you notice trees that have tilted towards a power line or have already fallen onto a power line, a foreign object on a power line (e.g. cover sheet for garden beds), phrase wires that have dropped very low, or materials being stored under phrase wires, notify us immediately at 715 1222 or [email protected]!
In case of an emergency or threat of an emergency (wires dropping from the tower), call
Elering at 605 6825 or the Rescue Board at 112!
Overhead lines
A person can receive a fatal electric shock from high-voltage power lines even without touching the phase wire. The safety distance depends on the voltage of the power line, but we recommend always keeping a distance greater than 3 metres.
Climbing on towers is strictly prohibited, it is life-threatening!
The safety distance must be taken into account when working with large and tall machinery, such as dump trucks, cranes, forklifts and harvesters, as well as when installing an antenna or flagpole, flying a kite or jumping on a trampoline.
Be careful when working with and moving large machinery!
Hazardous situations are most often caused by large means of transport, forestry and construction equipment, whose moving parts, such as a dump truck bucket or a crane boom, rise several metres higher than their transport position. Any activity in the protection zone for an overhead line must be approved by Elering in advance to ensure safety.
On public roads, the route of cargo over 4.5 metres tall must be approved in advance at intersections with Elering’s overhead lines (approval of the application for a permit for special cargo).
Outside public roads, such as in fields or forests, machinery taller than 3.5 metres should not be used. To ensure safety, you should consult Elering in advance.
In hot summer weather, it is also important to take into account that the heat will cause the phase wires to stretch and drop lower than usual!
A cable that has fallen on or into a machine may be live!
A fallen wire may be live, so you should not go closer than 20 metres to the wire. A live line wire that has fallen on a machine also causes the machine to become live, so the driver should not leave the cab, as this will put him in even greater danger.
If the machine is not stuck in the wire, you can try to move away with the machine in the opposite direction to the initial movement. However, if it is not possible to remove the machine from the line on your own, you must wait for outside help to exit the cabin and obtain confirmation that the line has been de-energised. Often, equipment stops working as a result of an electric shock, for example, the tyres of a machine may burst.
However, if there is a risk of the machine catching fire (tyres are smoking or have caught fire), exit the machine (by jumping) without touching it while on the ground.
You must move at least 20 metres away from a fallen wire or live machine, avoiding taking large steps or running, where both feet touch the ground at the same time, which could result in step voltage. Move away from a fallen wire or machine either in small jumps with both feet together or by dragging your feet along the ground in small steps so that both feet are on the ground at all times.
Making fire near high-voltage lines is life-threatening!
Making fire near an overhead power line is prohibited, even if the weather is calm and the fire can be controlled. An electric shock can occur between a flame rising from a campfire and a power line, even if the flame is several metres from the power line. Such a shock would endanger the lives of people within a radius of 25 metres. In addition, the heat from the fire causes the phase wires to stretch, which causes the wire to drop closer to the ground, further increasing the risk of electrocution.
Logging, construction and earth-moving work in the protection zone for a power line must be approved!
Approval of logging, construction and earth-moving work taking place in the protection zone for a power line is mandatory. It is also not permitted to store trees, timber, construction and soil materials under or in the immediate vicinity of overhead lines.
Even outside the protection zone, trees should not be cut in the direction of power lines – be sure to contact Elering before commencing work.
If, however, a tree starts to fall towards a power line or has fallen onto a line, the following must be done:
- Immediately cease all activities related to felling the tree.
Avoid approaching the tree for any reason, including to save the tree. - Move at least 20 metres away from the tree, avoiding taking large steps or running, where both feet touch the ground at the same time, which could result in step voltage.
- Move away in small jumps with both feet together or by dragging your feet along the ground in small steps so that both feet are on the ground at all times.
- If a tree fell so close to a wire that a short circuit occurred or the tree fell onto the wires, this must be immediately reported to Elering’s contact number, which can be found in the permit for operating in the protection zone.
- Prevent unauthorised persons from approaching the scene and wait for the arrival of electrical experts who will arrange for the removal of the tree.
Storms, thunderstorms, wet snow and ice can create a hazardous situation!
During and after storms and thunderstorms, extreme caution must be exercised when moving near overhead lines, as a wire or lightning protection cable may have fallen from the tower. Touching fallen wires (cables) is strictly prohibited and approaching them from a distance of less than 10 metres is dangerous. If it is an area where more people move, organise a guard in the hazard area until the arrival of experts.
If wet snow or ice has formed on the wires and the wires have dropped dangerously close to the road or ground due to their weight, refrain from passing under them and inform the owner of the power line about the incident.
Cable lines
Cable lines are both underground and underwater cable lines. The protection zones for underground and underwater cable lines are different, as are the operating restrictions within the protection zone.
Before starting excavation work, determine:
- whether there may be underground cable lines in the excavation area – additional information about the location of underground cable lines can be found in the restrictions map application of the Land Board;
- if there is a cable line in the excavation area, who owns it;
- obtain an approval or your excavation work from the owner of the cable line!
Without approval, it is prohibited to:
- cross a cable outside the road area with heavy machinery, e.g. tractor, forestry truck;
- carry out excavation work, build construction works, cut down forest and transport timber out of the forest;
- make fire in the protection zone;
- grow trees and shrubs in the protection zone.
Kiisa power plant
The Kiisa power plant, owned by Elering, is located in Kirdalu village, Saku rural municipality. Kiisa power plant is a category B facility liable to be affected by major accident, and as such Elering, as the owner of the plant, has developed a set of measures that must ensure an operational response in the event of an accident.
The emergency reserve power plant uses natural gas and diesel fuel for operation, and Elering must purchase carbon dioxide emission allowances from the market to operate the plant. The total amount of allowances needed depends on how often and for how long the plant operates.