TO GROUND OR NOT TO GROUND YOUR
VEHICLE: THAT IS THE QUESTION
By Geoff Nielsen, P.Eng.
The existing
work methods used
by BC Hydro and
some other utilities
for performing energized work includes
the practice of not
normally grounding
vehicles, including
non-insulated boom
trucks as well as
insulated aerial lifts
fitted with both
upper and lower
dielectric sections.
Many other utilities
are known to ground
their vehicles when
performing energized work.
In response to a
recent accident in
which a contractor
suffered serious
burn injuries when
his conductive
boom contacted an
energized 25 kV circuit, a review of the
various vehicle
grounding practices
was carried out.
The following
summarizes the
results of this
review and includes
a discussion of the
merits of grounding
or not grounding
vehicles at the work
site.
BC Hydro’s
vehicle grounding
practices were studied in 1988 and the
rationale supporting
these practices was
presented in A.P.
Lyttle’s paper
“Vehicle Grounding
Pros and Cons”,
