How can I check the power on a Line on the ground?

[TheDR]

Hey everyone, I’m facing a serious issue and could really use some advice. I live in a country where regulations are weak and the attitude towards safety is pretty indifferent. Outside my house, there are power transmission lines, and after a recent thunderstorm, one of them is hanging dangerously low. It looks like it’s only a matter of time before the line falls completely to the ground, especially with the next strong wind.

From what I can see, the line might be disconnected and out of power because it’s already snapped off near the pole. However, I need to be absolutely sure there’s no power on the line when it eventually comes down.

Here’s the tricky part: contacting the authorities hasn’t been helpful. The local electricity company and nearby substation basically told me they don’t care. I even reached out to an emergency electricity service located about 100 meters away (they have loads of transformers on site). Their response: "If the power goes out, we’ll fix it, but a dangling line isn’t our problem."

The police said they’d only come if someone gets hurt, and the fire department doesn’t seem interested either. When I contacted the electricity company’s main office, I was told to send an email. Their autoresponder replied saying I should expect an answer within four weeks.

So, my question is: What’s the best and safest way to check if the line is live? It’s most likely carrying 230V AC. Any tips or equipment recommendations to make sure the line is safe to handle (or avoid!) would be greatly appreciated.

[IanB]

Hi there.

Unfortunately, you can't be sure that there is no power on the line, and there is no safe way to check either.

If the local electricity distribution company does not care about it, that is unfortunate, but it does not seem like there is anything you can do except wait until (or if) it falls. Then call them again.

It is suspicious that the broken wires have not already caused an interruption to anyone's electricity supply, so perhaps it is not important.

[IanB]

Looking at your second picture, it is possible that the broken cable might be a grounded conductor like the one shown below. Which would mean that of itself, it would not be energized. However, it might be a neutral, in which case, if it broke, it could cause bad voltages on other conductors.

You probably should try harder to get someone to look at it. Don't tell people it is "sagging" or "hanging down" because they won't care about that. Tell them instead it is broken, and send them the photo of the broken cable. That is more important.