NORTHERN POWERGRID 'SUMMER OF SAFETY' PROMOTES VITAL MESSAGES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

Northern Powergrid, the company that powers everyday life for 8 million people across 3.9 million homes and businesses in the North East, Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire, is helping keep safety on the agenda this summer as local schools break up.

The network operator is promoting its safety animation in a bid to ask parents and guardians across the region to spend time with their children reminding them of the importance of not going near electricity infrastructure.

The electricity distributor has already reached out to thousands of people with its digital safety animation which has been seen more than 370,000 times on social media. The animation encourages local people to take a few moments to educate the young people in their lives about the importance of not climbing poles and pylons, going into electricity substations or fishing or flying kites or drones near overhead power lines.

Whilst primarily directed at parents, it was created in a way that means the animation can also be shared with children to help get vital safety conversations started. The network operator will also share later in the summer holidays across social media as part of its campaign an animated safety presentation. The presentation can help parents keep their children entertained whilst spreading vital safety messages.  It is also helpful for any teachers preparing for the return to school as it provides a free resource to talk to children about electricity, how it is made, how it gets to their home and electricity safety.

Gareth Pearson, Head of Health, Safety and Training at Northern Powergrid, said: “With summer firmly here and youngsters heading out and enjoying the light nights, staying safe remains key.  We want children living in our area to understand the importance of staying away from power network equipment.

“We’re encouraging parents and guardians to sit down with the young people in their life to watch our animation and chat about the potential hazards and what they should do if they see anything hanging from our power lines or a ball goes into a substation. It takes less than two minutes to view the animation but it could make a real difference in starting an important safety conversation that can help save lives. 

“It’s vital that youngsters know not to try and retrieve any items themselves as this is extremely dangerous. Our teams are professionally trained and wear special protective equipment so they are the only people who should be close to our equipment. If they spot anything potentially unsafe, they must call us on 105 and speak to our 24-hour team so we can send someone out to help. Doing the right thing will help ensure everyone remains safe and has fun during the holidays.”

To find out more about the free resources available to help teach young people about electricity and electricity safety visit northernpowergrid.com/education.