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“You can’t see an electrical fault, but you can feel one”, is the new campaign slogan to encourage people to report electrical faults.
The advertising campaign has been launched in Western Australian and is a collaboration between the state government’s building and energy team, and network operators Western Power and Horizon Power.
The message they are trying to get across is that any electric shocks or tingles should be reported immediately to their electrical provider.
“The key message is to contact your network operator straight away if you experience an electric shock or a tingling sensation from a metal object, such as a bathroom tap,” Energy Safety director Saj Abdoolakhan said.
The network operator is the best person to contact first because they are responsible for the initial essential response, and checking the electricity supply, he said.
“Shocks and tingles can be warning signs of a degraded or broken neutral connection. This results in a voltage rise in the earthing system, causing metal objects in and around a building to become live with dangerous levels of electricity.”
The three-month campaign will be visible on TV, online and billboards around the state, and will portray the message that no shock or tingle is too small to report.
“There is no such thing as a ‘minor’ electric shock,” Mr Abdoolakhan said.
“Incidents involving a neutral fault account for a quarter of reported shocks in Western Australia. This is extremely hazardous and must be checked as a priority by the network operator.”
In addition to the campaign, the state government is working with Western Power on the roll-out of an advanced form of meter that can remotely detect degrading neutral connections.
“The advanced meters can detect changes in the neutral resistance within a circuit and send an alert signal to the network operator,” Mr Abdoolakhan said.
“Even if a meter is in place, it is still important that customers immediately report electric shocks or tingles to the network operator as an extra safety back-up.”
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