New safety guidance for overhead power lines on farms

With two farmers a year losing their lives following accidents with overhead power lines, the Energy Networks Association, together with other rural organisations, has launched new guidance to make working on farms safer.

To tackle the causes of these accidents, the NFU, National Association of Agricultural Contractors, the Farm Safety Partnership and the Energy Networks Association (ENA), have published new sector-specific safety information.

The free guide, Agriculture – Look Out, Look Up!, which will be distributed by the organisations, provides practical advice and illustrations covering how to avoid the hazards involved in spraying, harvesting, hedgecutting, undertaking loading operations, and performing other farm tasks near overhead power lines.

See also: Farmers Weekly launches kids’ farm safety campaign

The guidance also covers topics such as the latest emergency procedures, clarity on statutory clearances, and how to correctly use technology such as GPS and height measuring tools to help ensure everyone can plan and work safely. 

“Nothing is more important to network operators than the safety of people living and working near the UK’s energy infrastructure,” said Jamie Reeve, deputy director for safety, health and environment at ENA.

The UK’s grid, he said, is one of the safest and most reliable globally, but they never stop working with their partners to make sure people are aware of the risks and can avoid them.

David Exwood, NFU deputy president, added that while overhead power lines are a familiar feature across farms, it must not lead to complacency.

“Every year, lives are lost or changed forever because of accidental contact with power lines – often during busy and pressured times like harvest.

“This new guidance is a practical tool to support safer working practices on farm, keeping farmers, their families and their businesses safe,” he added, and urged farmers to “read it, share it and take time to consider how they are managing these risks”.

Agricultural fatalities

According to the Health and Safety Executive, agriculture still has the worst rate of worker fatal injury (per 100,000 workers) of all the main industry sectors.

In the past 10 years, almost one person a week has been killed as a direct result of agricultural work and a total of 23 fatal injuries to workers were reported in 2023-24.