Worker who struck electricity cable while carrying out water repairs in Limerick escapes injury

A POWER outage in Limerick earlier this week was caused by a worker hitting a 38,000 volt underground cable with a crowbar, Limerick Live has learned.

The incident occurred on Monday afternoon when an operative for a contractor working for Uisce Éireann was carrying out works to fix a water leak at Ballinacurra Road in the city.

The electricity cable was struck as they were attempting to repair an underground water main.

ESB Networks confirmed to Limerick Live that a relatively short duration power outage lasting 30 minutes impacted on around 12,500 customers - many in the city centre.

"This outage occurred shortly before 2.30pm on Monday, May 22 after an incident where construction equipment of a third party came into contact with an underground cable and damaged the electricity network. Crews mobilised immediately and power was restored to all customers by 3pm.  

"We apologise to impacted customers for the disruption caused. While thankfully no injuries resulted, the incident serves as a timely reminder to all those involved in construction to ‘dial before you dig’ prior to any underground works – contact us on 1800 928 960," said an ESB spokesperson.

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An Uisce Eireann spokesperson said a contractor carrying out important leak repair works on behalf of Uisce Éireann "unintentionally impaired an underground cable which resulted in a power outage in parts of the city. Power was returned to homes and businesses within 30 minutes of the incident occurring".

"There were no injuries as a result and all appropriate safety measures were followed. Uisce Éireann regrets any inconvenience caused by this disruption," said the Uisce Eireann spokesperson.

According to ESB Networks, there have been 72 fatalities in Ireland, due to electrocution since 1994.