Couple electrocuted while stealing copper wire

I bet he never tries that again.

That's a fact, jack! In a normal 120/240 volt house with the standard "edison" wiring, a loose or open neutral can result in anything from near 0 to 240 volts on either of the two (normally) 120 volt legs. And it can put the neutral, which should be firmly at ground potential, at up to 120 volts. Meaning, if you're grounded (which you basically are, give or take a little resistance), a loose or open neutral can be as deadly as a hot lead. You expect a hot lead to be hot and take the necessary precautions. You don't expect a neutral to be hot and thus may take dangerous shortcuts.

The road I live on has a single phase primary feeding it. It's a short run a little over a quarter mile long. One day I noticed the primary neutral was broke and laying on the ground. I called the utility up and the dispatcher didn't seem to be concerned saying Oh it won't hurt nothing. I said you're kidding me aren't you? They sent the line crew up and I asked one of them if they'd stand there holding both sides. They said a quick No Way. I told them about what dispatch said and they shook their heads.

A lot of wire thieves don't know this either. An abandoned {dead} aerial power line running more than just a few pole strands can give you a good jolt too if they didn't put ground jumpers on it when they abandoned it.

BUT, on the ‘up side’ at least they were acting as a family unit, but probably safe to assume they were living in the vehicle, so that way you are forced to take your family with you when you go to work. s/s

As someone else pointed out, now the taxpayers ‘own’ her and the kids.

Is this a great country or what?

Wow - you did have a run-in. Glad you got things sorted, but those contractors should have got you in contact with a real TVA employee immediately. Sometimes, contractors get a "big head" knowing that the TVA Police (who ARE US Marshalls) are a phone call away. Of course, so is the local Sheriff so you can force a standoff until things are straightened out.

I'm pretty familiar with their transmission lines - let's just say that I work in a capacity that involves them, though not in a physical manner. Anyway, it sounds like the original right-of-way was for a lower voltage line, probably 69 kV which requires a narrower ROW than the higher voltage. Then, they decided to run the higher voltage line through there without working with you (and your neighbors). IOW, they perhaps tried to pull a fast one.

Before I bought the lot next door, which has a TVA 161 kV transmission line going across it, I contacted the TVA ROW specialist and we walked the property and discussed what I could or couldn't do. In my case, I would own the land and TVA would have a permanent easement for the transmission line. He and I discussed what type of plants I could use under the conductors. Obviously, anything tall will be taken down. I've just finished putting down about 1/4 acre of grass under the lines, and I've been watering for 2 weeks (hopefully, we'll get some rain soon!).

Anyway, they want a clear path on 75 feet to each side (total 150 ft) for a single 161 kV line like the one that crosses my property. Same for 230 kV. It's 200 feet for a 500 kV line (100 foot each side), and 75 feet for a 69 kV line.

Now, he told me that they are a little generous in favor of the power lines, and in my observation, that is true. The cut is around 170 feet on my lot. If you have multiple tower lines, then the path will be wider. 300 seems a little excessive unless you have two separate circuits in the ROW.

Was this built recently? You said a couple of years ago, right?

The tower configuration is single tower but was changed in a few places due to terrain issues. I’ll explain in a PM so I don’t out my location.

The road I live on has a single phase primary feeding it. It's a short run a little over a quarter mile long. One day I noticed the primary neutral was broke and laying on the ground. I called the utility up and the dispatcher didn't seem to be concerned saying Oh it won't hurt nothing. I said you're kidding me aren't you? They sent the line crew up and I asked one of them if they'd stand there holding both sides. They said a quick No Way. I told them about what dispatch said and they shook their heads.

My experience with small power distributor dispatchers and telephone operators are that they aren't all that well versed in things involving electricity. They understand "lights out" and "wires down" but are not familiar with the kinds of things that may pose a danger to the public. When you said that they had a neutral down on the ground, the dispatcher probably felt that since it was at "earth" potential, it was probably safe. Unfortunately, there's a fair amount of impedance in the ground, and even if the neutral is grounded 2 poles away on both sides of the break, there is likely to be a difference of potential between the two sides. Which means that current wants to flow - and you don't want to be the conductor.

Gotcha!

kinda like Steed and Mrs Peel, if The Avengers were into stealing copper :)

My experience with small power distributor dispatchers and telephone operators are that they aren't all that well versed in things involving electricity. They understand "lights out" and "wires down" but are not familiar with the kinds of things that may pose a danger to the public.

I usually end up calling them several times a year. When the lights go out usually about a second or two afterward I hear the boom where their fuse blew out down at the main road. The tap off for my road is a quarter mile below me and sound carries up the ridge. I do feel sorry for the guy who lives across the road from it LOL.

If I don't hear it I call my parents on the main road and ask if their lights are on. We feed off the same phase of the primary. But with the new system they have now the utility can poll or talk to my meter from a computer. If I call they know if it's just my house out or the fuse blew out without asking.

But one high-amp shock can ruin your life, if it doesn't cook you off in the first couple of seconds.

It only takes milliamps to kill. 200 milli-amps can make the heart fibrillate. One-hundredth of an amp is painful and one-tenth makes the muscles contract.