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SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISON
TIPS OF THE TRADE
Power Line Safety for Tree Workers
Look Up and Look Out

Check for overhead power lines, poles, and guy wires before starting every job, and point them out to crew members at your daily safety briefings. Injuries or death may result from contact with any power line, even the lines that run from utility poles to buildings.

 
Follow the 10 foot rule  
Follow the 10-Foot Rule

Never trim or remove trees within 10 feet of overhead power lines. Only qualified line-clearance tree-trimming contractors may work closer than 10 feet from power lines. These workers participate in rigorous training exercises and perform enhanced inspections on a regular basis.

If you are not line-clearance qualified, you must keep yourself, all tools, equipment and vehicles at least 10 feet away from overhead power lines carrying up to 50,000 volts. Greater voltages require greater distances. Before work begins, call Southern California Edison (SCE) at 1-800-611-1911 to verify voltages and determine required safety clearances.

In Case of Power Line Contact

If a tree or limb should contact an overhead power line or cause an overhead power line to fall, assume the power line is energized and take the following steps:

STOP work immediately.

Do NOT touch or move the line or any part of the tree. Keep the public far away.

Contact SCE at 1-800-611-1911 and wait for them to arrive before resuming work.

If the line should fall onto a truck or other equipment, don’t panic. Warn everyone, including other workers, to stay far away from the vehicle as well as the power line. Always remember to stay at least 30 feet away from a fallen distribution line and at least 100 feet away from a fallen transmission line.

Anyone inside or on the vehicle should stay where they are until instructed otherwise by SCE or emergency officials.

Would You Like to Know More?

For more electrical safety tips, case studies, instructional videos, and training tools can all be found, at no charge to you, at sce.com/staysafe.

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811 know what's below 811 before you dig
In an Electrical Emergency, Call 911

For questions about working near power lines or to report an electrical safety hazard, call SCE at 1-800-611-1911.

Never Approach Anyone or Anything Touching a Downed Wire

Stay Away, Call 911

Learn More
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For more contractor safety information, visit sce.com/safetyonthejob.
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