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Electrical incidents mainly occur during work on live fixed installations, such as cabinets, boxes and sockets, as well as during the use of portable machine tools.
The same applies to work in the direct or indirect vicinity of electrical installations or structures (such as overhead lines, transformer substations or buried pipelines).
Depending on the nature of the tasks and the electrical environment, it is the employer's responsibility to organize operations and empower personnel when required.
What is an electrical hazard? And what are the work-related electrical risks?
An electrical hazard is any event that could result in a workplace incident or accident caused by electrical current.
For workers, the risks associated with electricity are many and can be of different kinds (direct contact, indirect contact, short-circuit, electric arc, etc.). It generally occurs on circuits in poor condition, when cables are poorly insulated or damaged.
Operations carried out in the vicinity of electrical installations
These are electrical operations (work on live parts, insulators, etc.) and non-electrical operations (painting, cleaning, etc.) in the vicinity of live bare parts.
What is a neighborhood?
A neighborhood zone is defined by a minimum approach distance (MAD). It is a function of the voltage domains.
Each zone has its own obligations?
A reminder in all cases:
- The employer must carry out an electrical risk assessment.
- All authorized workers must have their health status monitored on an individual basis.
- The employer must provide each authorized worker with a book of instructions, the content of which is based on approved standards(NF C 18-510) and may be supplemented by specific safety instructions.
Non-electrical work carried out in the vicinity of overhead or underground electrical structures or installations
This refers to non-electrical work (e.g. painting, delivery activities, moving, pruning, etc.) carried out in the vicinity of electrical structures or installations that do not involve their conducting parts.
What is the environment?
The environment is considered to be the geographical volume within a 50-meter radius of a bare or insulated conductor.
Prevention obligations for de-energized work (employer, project owner or project manager)
Employers must ensure that work likely to involve workers, the work equipment or road vehicles they use, or the materials or loads they handle (bare overhead lines) crossing certain safety distances (diagram 1), or entering the cautionary approach zone (diagram 2) (insulated overhead or underground pipelines), is carried out de-energized (unless technically impossible, as justified by the operator of the structure or the head of the electrical installation).
Specific requirements for general technical preventive measures are laid down for off-voltage work:
Before work
The employer must :
- carry out a risk assessment ;
- ask the operator of the structure or the facility manager to de-energize it ;
- start work only when he is in possession of a document certifying de-energization or consignment.
The operator of the structure or the head of the electrical installation must determine, in conjunction with the employer, the part of the structure or installation concerned, and the dates and times when work is to begin and end.
End of work
The employer sends the operator of the structure or the facility manager a document stating the date and time of completion or suspension of work, enabling the structure or facility to be energized again.
Work cannot resume until the employer obtains a new de-energization or consignment certificate.
Prevention obligations for work near live conductors
For each new operation, the employer must implement preventive measures defined following a specific risk assessment:
| Working in the vicinity of bare overhead lines | Working in the vicinity of insulated overhead lines or underground pipelines |
| Assessment of the specific risks, taking into account the information provided by the power system operator or the facility manager as part of the preliminary discussions (constitution and type of networks or facilities, their route, the height of the lines concerned and the voltage range of the lines concerned). | Assessment of the specific risks, taking into account the information provided by the power system operator or the facility manager as part of the preliminary discussions (constitution and type of networks or facilities, the route of the pipelines concerned, including any data relating to uncertainty, the depth of the pipelines concerned and the voltage range of the pipelines concerned). |
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Reminder: as part of their response to declarations of intent to begin work, operators of electrical networks subject to the one-stop-shop declaration requirement are required to provide certain information (characteristics, precautions to be taken, etc.). For work in the vicinity of electrical installations not subject to the one-stop-shop declaration requirement, and unless otherwise agreed with the operator, the employer must request this information from the operator. |
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Adapted operating procedures to be defined by the employer, giving priority to collective protection measures. Elements to be taken into account: - Maximum heights of work equipment used - Ground conditions and gradients - Night work, isolated work - Weather conditions - Visibility conditions - Rescue access |
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Worker protection measures to be implemented: Low-voltage (LV) area: - Installation of physical barriers between the line and the work area. - Install insulation when safety distances are likely to be exceeded. High voltage (HV): - Restricting the work area - Removing the naked live overhead line from reach - Place physical obstacles between the line and the work area. Note: if technically impossible, implement technical or organizational measures (marking, etc.) to ensure compliance with safety distances. |
 From July 7, 2027 Isolated, invisible underground pipelines The requirement for site supervisors to have specific electrical clearance when working in the zone of uncertainty. Underground pipes made visible HF/BF electrical clearance (amendment A1 to standard NF C 18-510) required for work requiring entry into the cautious approach zone. Note: equivalences exist between AIPR and HF/BF electrical clearance. |
Specific work - the essentials :
Work in the plant production cycle using mobile work equipment or road vehicles
If the safety distances cannot be respected :
- specific safety distances must be defined,
- maximum heights of work equipment and safety and emergency instructions in the event of electrical contact must be posted,
- specific training for workers (to be repeated every 3 years or in the event of modifications involving new risks) from July 7, 2025 onwards.
Maintenance of vegetation and felling of trees in the vicinity of a bare overhead line
For vegetation maintenance :
- It is forbidden to use hand-held equipment with telescopic handles during vegetation maintenance work if there is a risk of crossing general safety distances,
- Specific safety distances must be taken into account if the vegetation is overhung by the conductors or if the vegetation is in a lateral position with respect to the conductors, depending on the voltage,
- From July 7, 2027, personnel must be certified for certain jobs;
- .....
For tree felling and related work => marking of certain trees, priority methods and felling procedures, documentation.
To sum up:
It is important to identify risks and implement appropriate preventive measures (operating procedures, EPC/EPI, specific electrical authorizations) in order to reduce or eliminate electrical risk. Employees must be able to recognize and identify electrical hazards, know how to find their way around high-risk areas, and be able to integrate prevention into the preparation of their operations.
For further information (regulatory references) :
- Code du travail Articles R. 4544-12 to R. 4544-33: Non-electrical work in the vicinity of overhead or underground electrical structures or installations (Part Four, Book V, Title IV, Chapter IV bis)
- Order of July 5, 2024 on the prevention of electrical risk associated with non-electrical work carried out in the vicinity of overhead or underground live electrical structures or installations.
- Order of July 5, 2024 relating to the conditions of equivalence between the authorization to work near networks provided for in article R. 554-31 of the environmental code and the authorization provided for in article R. 4544-33 of the labor code.