Look Up and Live
Remember to be aware of powerlines. Look Up and Live.
Touching or getting close to a powerline with any object could be fatal. It can cause serious personal injury, property damage and even death. You can be injured from being close to the powerline, without having to touch it.
Our overhead, high-voltage powerlines can be found along corridors of privately and publicly-owned land, and extend across some 200,000 square kilometres of South Australia.
If you have powerlines on your property or operate heavy vehicles, cranes, farm machinery, light aircraft and recreational vessels, it is important that you are familiar with essential safety precautions.
Quick tips for staying safe when working and operating near overhead powerlines:
- A minimum distance must be maintained from a powerline, to lessen the risk of an electric shock. Never guess what the minimum distance needs to be.
- The voltage of the powerline affects how close to them you can work. Generally, the higher the voltage, the more minimum distance required.
- Weather conditions like storms with lightning, hot weather and winds can make a previously safe minimum distance insufficient. The safe minimum distance may need to be increased in such conditions. Keep this in mind when working near powerlines on hot or windy days.
- Always be aware of the location and clearance requirements of the powerlines where you are working. Take special care when working on an unfamiliar site or at night.
- If you get a new piece of equipment, it may be bigger than your previous one. Remember to check the minimum distance that must be maintained before you begin using new equipment around powerlines.
Download the Look Up and Live fact sheet or visit the Government of South Australia’s website for more information on safely working or undertaking leisure activities near high-voltage powerlines.