Power Outage and Utility Line Damage Caused by Stake Piercing Underground Cable at Residential Property

Location: Chilliwack
Regulated industry sector: Electrical - Low voltage electrical system (30V to 750V).

Incident Overview

At a residential property, a concrete forming stake was driven into an underground service cable causing an electrical fault that resulted in overhead utility lines melting, falling to the ground, and leaving the property without power. It is very likely that the electrical fault was caused by the underground service cable and neutral conductor contacting each other through the stake. This incident also occurred due to the cable location not being identified prior to construction starting, the depth of the cable in partially excavated ground, and the weight of the concrete pump truck outrigger causing movement in the ground.