Let me tell you a story.
It was a gloomy Thursday afternoon; you know, the kind where everything feels like it’s going to go wrong. A linesman and his crew from a power distribution company (DisCo) got the call: a fault had been reported on a blue-phase J&P drop. Simple job, right? Just clear the fault and head home in time for a hot meal.
So, they did what responsible engineers should do—they contacted their Operations Management System (OMS), who allegedly gave them the green light after supposedly coordinating with regional dispatch for clearance. (We’ll come back to that “allegedly” later.)
They got to the site, and while trying to “tease” the line (yes, that’s the actual term) to apply temporary grounding, BOOM!!! An arc flash hit the linesman. The poor guy took a jolt to both legs and suffered partial burns. Thankfully, his safety belt did its job and kept him from taking a high-voltage nosedive. He blacked out for a bit, but managed to climb down slowly, probably wondering where it all went wrong.
He was rushed to a nearby clinic and stabilised. The company launched an investigation (as they do), and surprise, surprise – the proper safety protocols and procedures were not followed. Turns out, they skipped a few teeny-tiny steps. You know, like actually shutting down the power and getting a proper work permit.
So, What Exactly Went Wrong?
This wasn’t just a bad day. It was a textbook case of what not to do. Here’s what likely happened:
- They worked on a live line without full isolation.
- The Permit to Work (PTW)? Non-existent or half-baked.
- No “Do Not Operate” (DNOP) tags slapped on the isolators.
- No confirmation of zero current before starting work.
- Communication and logging? Probably as absent as a power supply in some parts of town.
Basically, the team skipped the playbook and freestyled their way into an accident.
A Quick Nerdy Break: What’s an Arc Flash?
An arc flash is not a cool superhero move. It’s a sudden release of electrical energy through the air, like a mini explosion, that can happen when someone works on live or improperly isolated equipment. The result? Burns, blindness, and even death. So yeah … not ideal.
Why This Keeps Happening
Sadly, this isn’t a one-off incident. I’ve seen too many of my colleagues suffer, sometimes fatally, because they didn’t follow Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). Sometimes it’s due to poor training. Other times? It’s “private practice” – staff moonlighting on faults for extra cash and trying to fix things on the down-low. No logging, no permits, no clearance. Just vibes and voltage. And unfortunately, that shortcut often leads straight to the grave.
The SOP Hits You with the Rules
Here are the key SOP steps that should have been followed:
- ✅ Permit to Work (PTW): No permit, no work. Simple.
- ✅ Outage Confirmation & Isolation: Triple-check that the line is de-energized. Not just “I think it’s off,” but “I tested it and saw zero current.”
- ✅ DNOP Tags: Put those big red “Do Not Operate” tags like your life depends on them—because it does.
- ✅ Communication & Logs: Let the Load Dispatch know everything. Write it all down. If it’s not logged, it didn’t happen.
- ✅ Physical Grounding: Only after isolation and clearance should you ground the equipment.
- ✅ Supervision: A qualified person needs to be present. Not “supervised by WhatsApp.”
So… What’s the Lesson Here?
Follow the SOPs. Every. Single. Time.
No permit? No play.
No isolation? No touching.
No grounding? No chance.
The Nigerian Electricity Health and Safety Code and your DisCo’s SOPs are there for a reason. They’re not just paper-pushing. They’re life-saving checklists.
In Conclusion: Don’t Get Roasted for Being in a Hurry
That arc flash incident could’ve been avoided if the team had followed procedure. Simple as that. Don’t gamble with high-voltage lines. Respect the process. Because in this industry, shortcuts are never really short. They’re just a quick route to disaster.
