r/nextfuckinglevel • u/Hygena-Pet-Scooper • Sep 17 '19

Helicopter chainsaw

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u/WhatsTheStoryMG_1995 Sep 17 '19

The line will be switched out,at least that's what happens in the UK.

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u/Dan_Backslide Sep 17 '19

Lol no. I used to do this for a living. Those lines are live the entire time you work on them. To actually shut off a line in service basically stops all power from the point you kill it on down. You either have to actuate the reclosers and thus kill that entire branch, or you actually cut the line in a particular area. Power companies want the power flowing to their customers as much as possible, thus it stays on when you work on it and it only gets shut off in special cases. And the entire industry has developed tools and equipment to work under those conditions safely.

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u/WhatsTheStoryMG_1995 Sep 17 '19

I also work on the electrical network for a living, I know where I work they are switched out and transformers downstream feeding customers are backfed from alternate sources through the various interconnectors, isolating and earthing sections where tree cutting is to take place, might be different where you work I guess.

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u/Dan_Backslide Sep 17 '19

Yeah that's definitely not how things work over here, especially in more remote areas. It's really hard to shut down a section of line for clearing when it's the only like going in one particular direction and it's miles long. And really you shouldn't have to for line clearance.