Tips & News - November 2014

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The process is called ‘building a variance.’ According to Carbajal, it is like preparing a business case, but it is not easy.

During bare-hand work, workers wear a Faraday suit bonded properly to the conductor and become one with the electric field at the line voltage.” Build a Variance California law specifically bans bare-hand work. In order to do it, a utility has to get permission from the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration Cal-OSHA and meet state and federal requirements. “We had to demonstrate to Cal-OSHA (while meeting Federal OSHA guidelines) that this can be done safely. We had to show them the training that we are going to do and what tools we are going to use. We had to explain exactly what type of work we will be performing and at what voltages,” explains Carbajal.

To begin, SCE benchmarked the bare-handing programs of other utilities, including Pacific Gas & Electric, San Diego Gas & Electric, and NV Energy. Then, the utility began evaluating what kinds of tools and training it would need.

Tools SCE called Hubbell Power Systems (HPS) for its expert advice.

“We’ve been working with HPS and their line of Chance ® tools for years and knew they hadwhat we needed – particularly in the extra high voltage (EHV) arena where strength is a critical issue. If we need to change out a string of insulators on a high-voltage line, a worker has to support the weight of the conductor during the change out. Chance tools can support that kind of weight.”

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