Toronto Hydro launches new electrical safety campaign

Six tips to stay safe around electrical equipment

TORONTO, Jan. 18, 2016 /CNW/ - Toronto Hydro is launching a new awareness campaign to educate residents on how to stay safe around electrical equipment.  The campaign is in response to an initiative from the Electrical Safety Authority (ESA) and the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) to help improve knowledge of electrical safety for Toronto residents.

In a city as large and dense as Toronto, hydro wires and transformers are all around us, helping to power the city.  While most equipment is safe, there are some key tips to keep in mind.

The awareness campaign focuses on five key areas, including overhead wires, underground cables, transformer boxes, downed powerlines and powerlines on cars.

TIPS TO STAY SAFE:

• Call before you dig to locate electrical or other underground lines
• Never touch an overhead powerline with your body or other object – it's very dangerous
• When undertaking outdoor activities, stay at least three metres away from overhead powerlines with your body or an object
• Never try to open, remove contents or touch equipment inside electrical utility equipment such as locked steel cabinets that contain transformers
• You should maintain a distance of 10 metres or more (length of a school bus) from a downed powerline
• If you're in a vehicle and an overhead powerline comes down on top of it, stay in the vehicle until power has been disconnected from the line

For more electrical safety tips, visit torontohydro.com/safety

QUOTES

"Most of us don't think about the power equipment that's all around us. But it can be dangerous if you're not careful. This campaign is designed to raise awareness of the easy steps to take to stay safe around electricity."
-       Tori Gass, Spokesperson, Toronto Hydro

ABOUT TORONTO HYDRO

Toronto Hydro owns and operates an electricity distribution system, which delivers electricity to approximately 752,000 customers located in the city of Toronto. It is the largest municipal electricity distribution company in Canada and distributes approximately 19% of the electricity consumed in the province of Ontario.

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SOURCE Toronto Hydro Corporation

Video with caption: "Video: Toronto Hydro releases new safety vignettes as part of new campaign". Video available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wm4YXsPGP4E&index=1&list=PLNig6WJlvp-RQd2PqPWsYg0XobI0QLP3B

Video with caption: "Video: Toronto Hydro releases new safety vignettes as part of new campaign". Video available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yAlCR9xhnU&index=2&list=PLNig6WJlvp-RQd2PqPWsYg0XobI0QLP3B

Video with caption: "Video: Toronto Hydro releases new safety vignettes as part of new campaign". Video available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ISqkgaNaoU&list=PLNig6WJlvp-RQd2PqPWsYg0XobI0QLP3B&index=3

Video with caption: "Video: Toronto Hydro releases new safety vignettes as part of new campaign". Video available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIycCkplwJg&list=PLNig6WJlvp-RQd2PqPWsYg0XobI0QLP3B&index=4

Video with caption: "Video: Toronto Hydro releases new safety vignettes as part of new campaign". Video available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fN_4ghggkKY&index=5&list=PLNig6WJlvp-RQd2PqPWsYg0XobI0QLP3B

Video with caption: "Video: Toronto Hydro releases new safety vignettes as part of new campaign". Video available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3xLcmJ5QrQ&list=PLNig6WJlvp-RQd2PqPWsYg0XobI0QLP3B&index=6

Tori Gass, Communications and Public Relations, 416-903-4037, [email protected]; 24-hours media line: 416-903-6845, [email protected]