Switching in inclement conditions

[T-Man]

Here is a question for you Troubleshooters. . .Switching, especially pad mounted gear ( URD ) during inclement conditions like fog, mist, rain and snow, do you, do routine switching? Do you take each condition and voltage under consideration and attempt to safely switch or is there a flat rule not to switch in these conditions?
I know when there is a customer in need or during storm restoration some of the above conditions can be gotten around with caution. . .like keeping your tools (switch sticks ) as dry or wiped as possible and only on voltages perhaps 8KV phase to ground and below. Just asking how it's handled in other areas.
I never operated the 14.4KV I was out of the occupation by then but all the voltages I worked on, we would switch when it was reasonable. Down pours and snow storms were out of the question.
Keep in mind I'm not interested in changing our work procedures I was just asking how it done elsewhere.

Thanks for the time.
T

[loodvig]

We kind of looked at each case as it came up. If it was in a underground vault it was done by the UG dept.

[T-Man]

Yea, Lood, in vaults and manholes the conditions can almost always be damp to say the least.Dirty for sure. . . We operate in them here as troubleshooters however. thanks for the info.

[climbsomemore]

I think common sense is needed here. MY old Union contract allowed repair and trouble work in inclement weather... that would include switching on URD or Overhead systems.

If the wind is blowing rain sidways and lighting is popping all around ... stay in the truck.Things will lighten up in a minute or two.

Personally.... waiting it out for a few minutes would produce a shorter outage that trying to do a task in some insane conditions and having an accident or breaking something.

"Safety is number 1".... and my personal favorte " restoration of service is secondary to the personal safety of our employees".

[CPOPE]

If you got wires down on a school bus who cares about inclement weather, switch test and ground. That's routine trouble shooter working alone. A T-Man works emergency or switches outside of minimum approach distance routine switching is done by a crew 2 men. The weather clause is a judgment of local supervision, crew leader or t man on the location makes the call, If it ain't safe don't do it. If they push you find a 15foot shotgun or extendo and if flash over the equipment occurs you is out of harms way.

In handling such emergencies, safety of personnel shall be given
paramount consideration.


CONTROL MEASURES FOR ALL ELECTRICAL WORK

Electrical safety is primarily dependent upon appropriate job planning and correct testing procedures and techniques.

The first aim always should be to eliminate the hazard. Usually, the simplest way is to ensure the electricity supply is isolated. However, electrical equipment should not be assumed to be de-energised after isolation. Testing must be done prior to touching. Workers must be appropriately trained and competent in test procedures and in the use of testing equipment.


EMERGENCIES: In an emergency, Authorized Personnel may modify or
suspend any of these guidelines temporarily as may be considered
necessary to permit proper handling of the specific emergency. If
emergency switching is required and Authorized Persons are not
available, others may be used. authorized to direct switching.

[Trbl639]

I think common sense is needed here. MY old Union contract allowed repair and trouble work in inclement weather... that would include switching on URD or Overhead systems.

If the wind is blowing rain sidways and lighting is popping all around ... stay in the truck.Things will lighten up in a minute or two.

Personally.... waiting it out for a few minutes would produce a shorter outage that trying to do a task in some insane conditions and having an accident or breaking something.

"Safety is number 1".... and my personal favorte " restoration of service is secondary to the personal safety of our employees".

We kinda looked at it on a case by case basis when the weather was really bad...........did it Safely!
The last contract I worked under, we did not climb or work energized/hands on when it was raining, unless it was an Emergency, as in to protect the public/life or limb etc........

Crews might set poles, do routine work or build small jobs, in light to moderate rain.......but moderate to heavy rain was emergency/lights out..

Can remember the days when if 1 drop hit the payment in 30 minutes, it was clean/stock the trucks, clean sticks/rubber goods..........then play cards the rest of the day, or until it quit raining:D

[Lineman8641]

If there is switching to be done in inclement weather and it is for an emergency, or storm related outage, we do whatever switching is necessary, regardless of the voltage. At one time they attempted to have us do Line switching so the substation crews could work on ACB's in an enclosed switchgear building. Needless to say that didn't fly for long. One other thing though if we need to do URD switching that involves pulling energized elbows on 14.4 and it's colder weather, we have rules stating we can't pull them if the temperature is below 40 degrees. We have had several incidents of Partial Vacuum Flashover when the elbows were pulled, especially on older generation elbows. I know cold weather really doesn't constitute "inclement" weather, but someone mentioned switching on 14.4 so I just thought I would toss that out. Our company just choose 40 degrees as their benchmark. I think some of the manufacturers suggest something in the 30's. On the new generation elbows and bushings, switching can be done in cold weather and you should not see the flashover.

[Divemaster]

For us it's a judgement call. We also do our switching in crews of two or three. I remember a few years back when our superintendent was new and extremely wet behind the ears, he wanted me to open the fuses hot in a S&C PMH-6. The problem was, I would have had to stand in water up to my waist. I gave him a polite f u, and so did our other switchmen. We opened a mile each way of the S&C and did it dead. He's learned that he's an office boy. We're the men who keep the lghts on.

[lewy]

We also do all of our switching with a min of 2 men. On our voltages above 15 kv if the transformers do not have vented bushings we will not switch them below approx freezing. All of our new transformers also come with switches. We also do all of our switching with class 2 gloves. We also will do an amp check to check parallel.