Utility Company Fined $225,000 After Three Workers Suffer Electric Shocks

Workers employed by a subcontractor were installing new hydro poles and wires under existing energized lines. They were excavating a hole when the boom of a work vehicle came within three metres of a power line located above the hole. All three workers received electrical shocks, with one later dying in the hospital. At trial, the utility company was found guilty, as a constructor, of three violations of the Constructions Projects Regulation, including failing to ensure the boom of a vehicle wasn’t brought within three metres of an energized overhead conductor of 750 or more volts and failing to ensure the use of a signaler. It was fined $225,000. Previously, the subcontractor that employed the workers, Digsafe Inc., pleaded guilty in relation to this incident and was fined $125,000 [Hydro Ottawa Ltd., Gov’t. News Release, March 29, 2016].