May 28, 2020
Ergon Energy substations have high fences, danger signs and security around them for a reason – the high voltage equipment inside can kill instantly.
Unfortunately, all the warning signs haven’t stopped a few trespassers across the Ergon network who in recent times have even scaled electric fences and barbed wire to get inside.
Ergon spokesperson Paul Jordon said it was alarming that members of the public would enter such a dangerous zone when even the company’s highest trained technicians must take special precautions.
“For a member of the public, entering a substation is like walking onto a minefield. There are pieces of equipment everywhere live with high voltage that will take their life instantly,” Mr Jordon said.
“What’s even more frightening is they don’t even have to contact some of the equipment because the voltage is so high that it can jump a distance across to a person walking by.
“That’s why our own staff take a significant number of precautions before going inside substations because they know just how dangerous they can be.”
Mr Jordon said there was only one message for those who consider entering a substation and that’s “don’t!”
“If your child’s drone has crashed inside our substation, call us on 13-16-70,” he said.
“If you’re thinking of doing a bit of skylarking with your mates, there’s a good chance you’ll end up dead.
“And if someone sees a member of the general public trying to enter or inside a substation, call triple zero (000) immediately because you could save their life.”
The above image of a substation shows there are just a few strands of barbed wire on top of the cyclone fencing. Perhaps if this was replaced with razor wire then it would be a better deterrence.
And the sign, if that’s all they have on the fence, could be much better. Maybe a pictogram of a person being zapped. A quick search found many examples pictograms that would certainly add to the rather bland sign that is shown.
If is saves lives then it’s worth the extra cost.
To be fair to Ergon, this is an old file photo that we took in Kingaroy a few years ago. The fence may have been upgraded since then.