Safety around substations

The danger of substations is shown by Tom’s story:

Tom was playing cricket near a substation. He was on his own and he accidentally hit the ball over the fence. He looked around him. No-one was watching. He saw a sign, which said “DANGER – HIGH VOLTAGE – KEEP OUT”. Since there was no-one around, he thought to himself “I’m a good climber. No-one will ever know”. He even remembers seeing workers in the substation one day and they had been behind the fence.

So Tom climbed in…

Two days later Tom still hadn’t come home. Everybody was looking for him and when they found him, it was too late. He had been electrocuted.

So, what happened to Tom?

He didn’t touch anything, neither did the cricket ball.

How did the electricity get to him?

What did it go through?

Not the fence
Not the ball

Remember the facts about electricity?

Answer: The electricity jumped through the air. The higher the voltage, the further it can jump!

Tom’s story shows why you must pay attention to warning signs and why you must not throw, kick or fly anything near power lines or substations.