Who covers?

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Krusscher

Senior Member
Location
Washington State
Occupation
Electrician
A co-worker said that their electrician was installing a larger main breaker at her house and had an arc flash that took out her service in some way so they had to replace the service conductors and meter. There is a lot I have wrong with him trying to replace the main live for what ever reason but she is wondering if they should be the ones that cover the cost of replacing the service conductors and meter. I say they should cover it or make an insurance claim and also this guy should lose his license for doing that live with out wearing any hot gear.
 
Depends on if homeowner agreed. Over here I would have to get power company. And that makes permit more. Plus longer down time hence me waiting around longer. If she was a tight wad and was informed then she pays. If they said nothing they pay.
I try not to work on stuff hot but sometimes it’s a must.
 
Why not call the power company and tell them you have an emergency and need to pull the meter? If it is as simple as cutting the seal on the meter, do it. If the meter is locked, they should be able to send someone quickly
 
Eddie702 said:
Why not call the power company and tell them you have an emergency and need to pull the meter? If it is as simple as cutting the seal on the meter, do it. If the meter is locked, they should be able to send someone quickly
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You haven't read some the stories over time that been posted about how long some POCO's will take to come out for disconnect for a service change, then how long it takes to come back to re-energize?

Thankfully I haven't encountered any like that, as long as you are communicating ahead of time and not calling them for the first time and wanting it done right now.
 
Got 2 POCO that will allow me to pull meter with notification for emergencies, the other no way. Simple if you turn off all the loads. Cut Tag, pull meter, put in restrictor plate and close. Get inspection, and put in meter and a temp tag they provide to me. EI calls in the release to POCO, and when they get around to it or the meter reader will permanent tag.
 
AC\DC said:
Depends on if homeowner agreed. Over here I would have to get power company. And that makes permit more. Plus longer down time hence me waiting around longer. If she was a tight wad and was informed then she pays. If they said nothing they pay.
I try not to work on stuff hot but sometimes it’s a must.
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They told her this is how it's always done. This wasn't an emergency repair, sounds like they just had room to bump the breaker up and needed it. I get working on stuff live but to work on a service main live without any sort of hot gear on seems like a bad idea. He ended up going to the hospital for burns on his hands in face but I think he's lucky that's all it was.
 
Krusscher said:
They told her this is how it's always done. This wasn't an emergency repair, sounds like they just had room to bump the breaker up and needed it. I get working on stuff live but to work on a service main live without any sort of hot gear on seems like a bad idea. He ended up going to the hospital for burns on his hands in face but I think he's lucky that's all it was.
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Lucky him. He gets to pay twice!
 
Krusscher said:
They told her this is how it's always done. This wasn't an emergency repair, sounds like they just had room to bump the breaker up and needed it. I get working on stuff live but to work on a service main live without any sort of hot gear on seems like a bad idea. He ended up going to the hospital for burns on his hands in face but I think he's lucky that's all it was.
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Was he an employee, subject to OSHA?
 
jim dungar said:
Was he an employee, subject to OSHA?
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Yes he was working for a contractor. She doesn't want to get him in trouble she just asked me who should be responsible for the repairs. I never really worked for a contractor as I have always worked as a in house electrician at facilities, so I figured I would ask here
 
Krusscher said:
Yes he was working for a contractor. She doesn't want to get him in trouble she just asked me who should be responsible for the repairs. I never really worked for a contractor as I have always worked as a in house electrician at facilities, so I figured I would ask here
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He is not in trouble, but his employer certainly is. The employer should be paying, not the electrician personally.
Hospital visits due to injuries are documented and reported. If nothing else the employer will be getting a call from his insurance company asking about further training of employees. That and a healthy increase of premiums.
 
Krusscher said:
Yes he was working for a contractor. She doesn't want to get him in trouble she just asked me who should be responsible for the repairs. I never really worked for a contractor as I have always worked as a in house electrician at facilities, so I figured I would ask here
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Whoever pays, it should NOT be the homeowner. In the usual course of events, she will file a claim with her homeowner's insurance and her insurance company will file a subrogation claim against the contractor's insurer. She may have to file a claim directly with the contractor's insurer to get her HO insurance deductible. It's also possible her insurer will tell her to file a claim directly with the contractor's insurer for the entire amount.
 
ptonsparky said:
He is not in trouble, but his employer certainly is. The employer should be paying, not the electrician personally.
Hospital visits due to injuries are documented and reported. If nothing else the employer will be getting a call from his insurance company asking about further training of employees. That and a healthy increase of premiums.
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The HO is likely worried about getting the employee in hot water with his boss. Probably unavoidable.
 
retirede said:
The HO is likely worried about getting the employee in hot water with his boss. Probably unavoidable.
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Absolutely unavoidable. I have never had a non-office medical visit that did not give me the third degree call about it being work related, so they could get workmans comp involved.
 
Around here usually we (electricians) are allowed to pull a meter for emergencies and for a service upgrade we can pull the meter to kill power and upgrade the service and cut and reconnect at the weather head. But some are putting locks on the meter instead of seals so you have to file the paperwork for a service upgrade and they will go out and remove the lock for you ahead of time.

Some POCOs make you sign off to their "cut and reconnect policy"


What are you supposed to do if a customer has a service wire arcing to the M bkr connection? Stand their and watch the house burn down I guess.

We had meters that could be pulled for the last 100 years. Now thats a no no and the meters get locked and we have to add emergency disconnects outdoors
 
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