I love the fact that this is released to the public on youtube, its a great safety video

Always assume power lines are live and guns are loaded!

Hands down, *THE* best demo of electrical safety I have ever seen.

0:00 maybe I'll watch a couple minutes, definitely not all 22 minutes 22 minutes later... Wait, it's done already? Really well done, I feel like I learned a lot. Had no idea about the generator backfeed.

Great demo. Any power company that performs services like this are great people

This needs to hit the masses. It needs to be pushed by anyone with DIY blogs or home improvement sites. More people need to take this stuff seriously.

Dominion has one of the best safety programs bar none. They haul this trailer around to all of the offices for demonstrations.

For those complaining of how long the training program is, the training program consists of overhead and underground completion sections. You have to know your different voltages, transformer bank setups, climb poles and do the work aloft, work on diving boards, pole rescues, underground switches, overhead and underground secondary and primary repairs, learn to switch devices out in the substations etc. Each section they learn, they then have to go back and get signed off in their local offices. Operate bucket trucks, trenchers, backhoes etc. You don't just go through some training and then be let loose. It's very extensive for a reason. Not only is your life on the line everyday but your coworkers and the general public.

I used to work as a window washer, and I used a tool called a tucker pole. It's a super long extendable aluminum pole with a water hose inside of it and a brush at the end. You use it to wash high windows outside. My boss had always told me to watch for power lines, cause the pole extended easily twice as high as most. He even told me a horror story of a guy who used to work for him who hit a line with the tucker pole by accident and it literally blew his boots off his feet. Took him years to recover and he was never the same. One day I was out washing with the pole, it was raining, there were trees and bushes around, it was getting stuck everywhere and I was irritated. The pole got caught on a tree and I gave it a good yank backwards to get it unstuck. It pulled free and as I stumbled backward the pole whipped back and smacked something overhead. I looked up and realized I had hit the power line above me. I was standing in a puddle, but was wearing rubber boots, they were full of holes though and my feet were soaked. Watching this video really freaks me out and makes me realize I'm probably lucky to be alive.

3:39 the guy eating the hot dog after cooking it with 7,000 volts 😂

Back when the garbage cans were 55 gallon oil drums, we used to throw the lids and cans on the CTA third rail and another rail. It would send the lid or can two stories into the air. You could barely see it because of the arc. Fun stuff! It gave me a lot of respect for electricity.

EVERY HOMEOWNER in AMERICA should WATCH this VIDEO! Thank you very much.

This should be required for every high school kid!!

I never knew a generator can energize power lines like that. just learned something new. thank you very much

Worked in this field for 17 years and love this demo! I really enjoyed the actual arcs being drawn. Very well done.

Dear sirs, THAT is a sharp, on the spot excellent description of some of the things electric power can do. Particularly the potential energizing of metal objects not necessarily involved with an obvious connection. We had a 60kva line blow in our neighborhood. The lines fell on a chain link fence. It WAS energized. The auto shutdown worked, but not immediately!

Damn a pin hole in those gloves can fry u thats crazy..i respect those crazy ass lineman now

Wow! I wasn't aware that a generator would energize the primary line. Thank you.

7 years in business, I watch this every year just as a refresher. Great video

This should be shown in science classes in school, I knew a lot of this information but I still learned a lot from this video. Lineman keep the modern world running and I don't think we give enough thanks to the men and women who do so.

not electrician, was just curious to study, but i am damn glad i saw this.

Great job on this demonstration and I hope that all Fire Departments and Police are required to watch something similar as part of their training.

Had similar training years ago during Fire Dept training, gave me a whole new respect for electricity, and also for the lineman!

Actually a special thank you to Dominion. I am an ordinary citizen. VERY informative. Thank you so much.

Dominion Power has a great team here. Well spoken, and well executed without any safety mistakes that would endanger themselves or others. The demonstration trailer setup is one of the best I have seen. It covers just about all typical accidents.

That's how to deliver a safety demo. I've done my share in the Air Force and this was excellent and thorough.

9 years later, still the best video.

Excellent demonstration of how dangerous power lines can be.. and the warning about backfeeding the primary side with a generator should be seen by everyone who used a generator during an outage.. Thank you..

14:35 He did the walking action with the doll! xD

_How do you like your hotdogs?_ Me: "Cooked at 10,000 volts." Utility worker: "Say no more fam."

Truly an excellent production, and a Public Service as well!! This should be required viewing for ALL homeowners and renters! And it probably be ought be shown to students in their Junior and Senior H.S. years. The words "Death can be just INCHES AWAY" are so TRUE!!💥💥💥😗😱😱😈👷👷

After 37 years in volunteer fire dept. this is best demo of electrical utility hazards i've seen. It was informative at best and mockup trailer with demonstrations they showed really brought it home on how dangerous this equipment really is.

Excellent demo. Brought back some very bad memories of a couple of fellas that I USED to know. It happened over forty years ago and the image is still burned into my mind. Respect electricity because it will not respect you.

As a private citizen I found this to be VERY "Enlightening" (pun intended). I wish my COOP had something like this annually to show and remind everyone how important it is to be cautious around downed lines and using generators to back feed their homes(something I have never heard of until this video). Thank you for possibly saving my life, from an Ohioan. :)

I would not have guessed a tiny pinhole in a dry glove would be enough to allow an arc to form. Scary stuff. I think I'll avoid high voltages. Appreciate the work you all do

Everyone should be watching this, not just first responders.

As an inside wire man I’ve been shocked by single-phase 440, three-phase 220, and everything in between. House current at 120 volts is also very dangerous, as you cant let go! Have good line testers, never work in live wires without being well insulated and NEVER plug a generator into your home breaker panel without cutting the connection to the mains. (The one that hurt me most was having a fluorescent ballast fall down and I grabbed it-1700+ volts through my arms and down my legs to the steel grounded platform. Electricity travels along the bones through the periosteum and all my bones from the shoulders down hurt for weeks.). Closest I came to a Darwin Award. ‘Nuff said.

Excellent demonstration, a real eye-opener. Especially for home owners back-feeding generators or trying to remove branches from over-head lines.

Great demonstration! People just don’t understand how much current is flowing through those wires. I know a NH lineman who became a path to ground for a great deal of electricity and he was never able to work again. My hats are off to the brave people who keep the lights on!

Every school should have this demonstration!

When I was a kid, I used to hang out with power linemen and watch them work, and would get the old insulators. I didn't realize back then why the foremen would get a little nervous about where I would stand when I'd watch. Now, after 40 years of collecting insulators, and watching linemen work, and seeing these types of videos, I've got a respect for electricity, and its safe use. Now I do electrical work in residential, and have applied all these safety measures in my work as well. Great Video.

When I was in fifth grade we had a guy from the power company come to our school with some little model neighborhood with its own power lines. I'm not totally sure how it worked but he had these little people doing things like cleaning pools or working with ladders. At one point the guy working with the ladder hit some power line and it made a loud pop that startled all of us. He also had a couple of kids near a tree and when one of the limbs made contact with a line it looked like the kid standing on the ground next to the tree got fried a lot worse than the kid in the tree. I obviously haven't forgotten it.

Awesome video! Taught me a lot, this video reinforces how much the public takes electricity for granted; especially when confronted with downed lines.

Highly recommended for everyone. This is the best example of electrical hazards that I have seen.

What an amazing demonstration! Wish I had one of these guys as a teacher in high school. Can’t say enough good things about the fine men and women who are electricians and firefighters in our communities.

Saw this same demo by Kansas City Power and light. Unfortunately the former lineman giving demonstration lost both legs and 1 arm in an accident. Someone kicked on a generator while he was working during a power outage. It back fed the line and bit him good. Thats why they started this demo, to prevent future accidents. Proper procedure s were not followed. He now is a safety guy and speaks all over about his experience.

Same in the UK, a little bit of knowledge will save lives...especially with the demonstration of the back feed. Thank you

Thanks to all firefighters because they are the first to people to respond to this situation

One important fact that was omitted is "step voltage". When a high voltage line contacts ground, theirs a voltage gradient around the point of contact up to several feet from it, that just the distance between footsteps can have a potential difference of several thousand volts. Even without contacting the conductor, it can smoke you.

What a great video it needs to be on national TV to educate everyone !!! Thank you

The simplicity and quality of this demonstration, man I love it so much

They need to show that to everybody , not just first responders !!

Holy hell! 56 months of training!

I accidentally came by a downed power line behind my house while I was picking up branches after Hurricane Sandy-left the area quick, called the utility company. Weirdest thing-grabbing up branches and there’s black hose-looking thing next to a branch. I first thought it was something that blew off someone’s rain spout in the winds-then I follow it with my eye and see it snaking towards a utility pole. So-leave the area. It doesn’t have to be sparking or humming.

Great demonstration, I learned something new! I never realized that a step down transformer can actually become a step up when power is applied through the secondary from a home generator for example! That is why people should be using a transfer switch when powering your entire home with a standalone generator.

Hats off to the gents who do this kind of work. You couldn't pay me enough!

I have been a volunteer Fire Fighter since 1972 (not as active as I was, but VERY safety oriented), currently in a small department with a bunch of know it all 30 something year old's and had our training officer play this video at a meeting. MOST of the jackasses talked throughout the video or played with their phones because THEY know more than everyone else because they have been on the department for 10 or so years. When I was safety officer (before "retiring") if you didn't pay attention, you went home. Needless to say the chief and I had a discussion and it didn't go well. We also had our local power/gas company give us a safety class and sure as shit, the first accident with "lines down" after the class, one of the guys got bit hard. So moral of the story is PAY ATTENTION.

Great demonstrations. I am an electrician from u.k and first time seen this done in a controlled way. Good learning curve for people who dont know about these high voltages and dangerous it can be. Knowledge is power. Could not resist the pun sorry

...”It REALLY brings it to LIGHT!!”... THANKS FOR SHARING!!

I never grow tired of this demonstration. I don't know how many times I have seen it but the lesson is the same, stay away from power lines. I worked telephone lines for over 40 years and I never took chances thus I am alive and healthy.

I remember watching this for my OSHA certificiation lol. This exact video.

Wow! This is really fascinating to me, I've always been more of a programming kind of person, but this also might be a career I could pursue as well. Thanks for this very informative demonstration, and for putting it online so its accessible to a wider audience.

I work for an engineering company. And our electrical safety training was a video of a guy pumping a high amperage switch, an explosion, the lights go out, and then when the lights come back on the guy vanished. That video was enough to make you realize electrocution is not a way you want to go out.

It's a great demo and I'm not trying to take away from it. It's kind of the opposite I'm talking about. On a actual transmission line these arcs would be deafening. The wire would shoot pieces of molten metal off. The hot dog would boil and explode. The ladder would almost melt in half. It's way more power available on a transmission line.

It's amazing how electricity can arc but not through rubber. When I was In Australia doing some labouring work near an electric train line we had to do an induction course and the instructor showed us a picture of what looked like two boot marks on the top of the train. The guy was working too close to the power cable and was pretty much vapourised.

They really should mark the gloves they use for the pin hole demo..

Bravo Dominion! This video may save lives.

This is probably one of the more underrated videos on KZfaq.

Very well done! Thanks for the info!

I would be the guy testing his gloves all day...

Great video! Just a comment on testing rubber gloves (4:35), in recent years many companies have phased out the roll up method in favor of an actual glove inflator. Glove inflators allow you to test the entire glove, which includes the cuff.

I learned a lot of information here. This video should be mandatory in public schools. Well done !

What an awesome public service! Never mind the nitpicking critics, this is great stuff in a nicely done video. Where do I sign up?

56 month training program! holy shit!

Really glad he explained about the generator back feeding I worked underground for over year and never new this .

I worked with the Bureau of electricity for the city of Chicago for 33 years we never had a demonstration this good that shovel was pretty wild the first bite with a shovel and he digs into primary that's very rare that you find something that shallow how is digging with an operator and we thought we had a true root in the trench nothing was marked it was all 6 7 feet away he went to pull the Tree Road out it was direct bury primary voltage blew a hole in the side of the bucket almost killed me

Can't see it, can't hear it... But it does taste coppery.

We lost our lights last night and the whole sky was glowing Orange so we think a transformer blew up.

Alot of people alive today having not seen demos or instructional like this are very lucky to be alive. To think of how many had to go in order for safety protocols to be this refined and thought out.

I am from different country, but I seriously like the way of this presentation.

Make sure you have bubblegum when working on live lines!

Intresting demonstration! 🙂👍 I've started to build up my own little electronics workshop at home (as a hobby), but before I actually start making any devices I thought it would be a good idea to make sure I REALLY know enough about how to SAFELY handle electricity, and I realized... I don't! 🤦‍♂️ So thanks for making "lessons" like these publicly available, instead of just showing them exclusivly for companies/organisations! Without them, hobbyist like me would only be useful with some ketchup on top! 😉

It's a pleasure watching people working who know what they are doing.

Excellent demo vid!!! Back feeding is no joke!!! Citizens and their home generators that plug into their homes is a real problem because not everyone does it properly. Thank you so much for this. Pass this on!!!

This must be a standard utility demonstration. A couple of different guys from Dayton Power & Light gave almost exactly the same demonstration each year for many years at the Dayton Hamvention in Ohio.

was the guy in the grey shirt chewing on one of those hot dogs?

What a great presentation...The live wire presentation illustrates how deadly electricity can be. Many thanks to Dominion !!!!

Appreciate you releasing this important informational video. 👍 Very well done.

His name is Mike Powers. Makes sense.

I didn't know that a 120v generator back fed through a transformer would step up the voltage !

I learned a lot. ALL wires are hot. Thank you!

Up in coastal Mendocino County California I have observed power lines grown completely over and around residential service lines !

DomCorpComm I think you are missing two important points here. one is capacitive coupling, the other is voltage buildup due to higher ground resistances in a ground fault situation. The later case kills even if you are near a live wire lying around and happily buzzing away.

After the wire short demo in the beginning of the video... I wondered what would happen if you used a string of sausages to short the two cables. Then they brought out the hot dog. :)

I never realized that the end of the tie causes radio buzz, but it makes perfect sense. The sharp end causes corona discharge! Man medium voltages are a whole new level compared to 480v!

I knew about the generator back feeding the power line, but never knew it is capable of full potential. WOW! But electricity lesson, the transformers work both ways.

Excellent demonstration. And... erm... I just can0t understand the 151 dislikes to this video: must be Edison supporters...

"It'll mess their generator up" -- their fault for not getting a proper generator transfer switch installed

Can’t believe this video is 22 minutes long, got me hooked, great explanation and very entertaining.

Thumbs up and thanks from NZ. Sobering stuff.