Safety first, always

The safety of our people, our communities, and our customers is everything. We never underestimate the power of energy and how we need to work with it to stay safe.

Please select from the options below for tips on how to stay safe around electrical assets at home, on the farm, when completing DIY, and when working on our network.

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Damage to power lines by overgrown trees

Tree safety near power lines

Did you know that trees falling onto power lines cause around 80% of our network’s outages? They also make it difficult for our crews to restore power and pose a serious safety risk to our customers, livestock, and wider communities.

Find out more about the importance of tree maintenance, the responsibilities of tree ownership on your property, the regulations and processes we follow to ensure the safety and reliability of our network and review our tips for ensuring your trees don’t become a hazard by clicking the link below.

Safely disconnect from our network. It's free.

This service is available to all Counties Energy customers during business hours: Monday – Friday, 8am – 4pm (excluding public holidays). Read more about the three kinds of disconnection services available and the relevant processes for each, by clicking the link below.

Find out more

Safety around fallen power lines

Fallen power lines, which are caused by storms, car accidents, encroaching trees, DIY mishaps, and other incidents near power poles present a serious danger to anyone at the scene.

If you see a downed line, please call us immediately on 0800 100 202 and keep yourself and others around you safe by following the below tips.

Tips for keeping safe near downed lines

Always treat fallen power lines as live and stay at least a bus length away from any downed lines.

If you come across a vehicle where power lines have fallen DO NOT touch the vehicle. Call 111.

If the lines come down on or near your vehicle, call 111 and stay inside your vehicle until the power is disconnected. Failing to do so could be fatal.

If you must leave your vehicle due to fire, or other immediate danger, jump away from your vehicle keeping your feet together when you land, and shuffle or jump (keeping your feet together at all times) until you are 10m clear of the line/s.

By keeping your feet together and shuffling / jumping away from the active line, you can minimise voltage deviation between contact points. This reduces the risk of a flow of electricity (current) that could cause serious injury or death.

Never drive over downed power lines. Call us on 0800 100 202, or 111 in an emergency situation.