As a native of New Orleans, Louisiana, I’m accustomed to hurricanes, flooding and extreme weather that can knock out power to homes and businesses for weeks, not days. As a result, it’s not uncommon to see portable and standby electric generators in the possession of residents.
In Colorado Springs, however, the purchase and use of these generators is a relatively recent trend. The challenge is new owners are often unfamiliar with the extreme safety risk these generators pose when connected and used improperly.
According to our electric lineworkers, troubleshooters and field service technicians, the use of portable and standby generators has grown exponentially, even before the December 2021 storm that triggered hurricane-force wind gusts and knocked out power to thousands of our customers.
“We’re seeing more and more home generators when we’re out responding to an outage or downed line,” says John Rombeck, electric line specialist. “The concern for us is how some customers are using these generators. An improperly connected generator can cause significant harm to the public and create a potentially fatal backfeed risk to our lineworkers who are trying to restore service or make system repairs.”
In simplest terms, backfeeding is the flow of electricity in the opposite direction than normally intended.
In the case of generators, backfeeding is created when an improperly connected generator is unknowingly feeding electrical current back to nearby electric transformers. In these situations, a lineworker may think an electric line is deenergized for safe repairs, only for a household generator to still be feeding current through the system. This can result in a fatal electric shock for the employee or anyone else in the vicinity of the downed wire.
Unfortunately, the engineered protections we put in place to de-energize lines are not effective in backfeed situations.
“These safety issues are a direct result of people believing that hooking up a generator is a do-it-yourself job – it’s not,” says Rombeck. “For example, custom-splicing electrical plugs onto a generator or trying to wire a generator to your home’s circuit breaker without the help of a trained expert is potentially fatal – for you, your neighbors and our employees.”
Rombeck and organizations like Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI), offer the following important reminders about generator safety.
- Hire a licensed electrician to correctly hook up a generator to your home.
- It is not a do-it-yourself job!
- The electrician will install a transfer switch into your home’s circuit breaker that will safely switch between power from Colorado Springs Utilities or backup generator power.
- The electrician will make sure the generator is properly grounded and connected to a Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI).
- Transfer switches are the only way to safely power your home’s electrical system with a generator. This prevents backfeed, electrocution and fire risk.
How to safely use a generator
- Never place your generator near a utilities meter.
- Never plug a generator into an outlet in your home.
- Never tamper with any of the cords or wiring attached to your generator.
- Thoroughly read the manufacturer’s instructions before operating the unit.
- Do not exceed the manufacturer’s listed capacity for your generator.
- Never place your generator near a utilities meter.
Avoid Carbon Monoxide poisoning
- Keep generators at least 20 feet away from your home.
- Never operate a generator in an enclosed space.
- Keep generators away from doors, windows and vents.
By the numbers, according to ESFI
- Storms account for many of the fatalities associated with generator use, with ice/snow-related weather events accounting for 46%. Hurricanes accounted for 29%.
- Approximately 67% of fatalities occurred when a generator was placed in the living area or basement of a home.
- About 26% of fatalities occurred when a generator was used inside an attached garage or shed.
