Don’t Hook Generators To Power Line, Officials Say

Utility officials say home electricity generators could injure or kill linemen.

“It’s a real safety issue,” said Dave Clinton, assistant manager of Inland Power & Light Co.

The same transformers that step the 7,200 volts of current in street lines down to 120 volts for home use also work in reverse, he said.

Homeowners may think they are producing household current, he said, but if they do not disconnect the house from power lines in the street, 7,200 volts flows back out into the system.

A repairman, thinking a street line is dead, could be killed or seriously burned by that amount of juice, he said.

“You can’t just connect to the household wiring system,” Clinton said.

Catherine Parochetti, spokeswoman for Kootenai Electric Cooperative Inc., said generators should be used in conjunction with a double-pole, double-throw transfer switch.

The switch disconnects the street line when the generator fires up.

, DataTimes