National Grid fined £3.2 million after pylon worker receives 33,000-volt shock

Justin Hollins, aged 50, was replacing step bolts on a pylon at Treforest Industrial Estate in Pontypridd, Wales on 3 December 2020 when he received an electric shock that caused burns to 40 per cent of his body and the loss of his right buttock.

Justin Hollins was working on a pylon in South Wales when he received a 33,000-volt shock. Photograph: HSE

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that National Grid Electricity Distribution (South Wales) had failed to ensure that the electricity to the pylon was cut off while the work was being carried out. The company pleaded guilty at Cardiff Crown Court to breaching Regulation 14 of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989. It was fined £3.2 million and ordered to pay costs of £20,460.

The investigation also found that Cheshire-based 4 Power Ltd had failed to adequately plan and assess the risks associated with working in such close proximity to a live circuit. The company was fined £80,000 and ordered to pay costs of £14,123.

Mr Hollins had to undergo six operations during his first 10 days in hospital and required round-the-clock care for months afterwards.

“Although I appreciate that I have been lucky to survive, I have to live with the physical and mental effects of the accident for life,” he said. “I also have to live with the uncertainty of the long-term damage 33,000 volts have done to my internal organs.”

HSE inspector Rhys Hughes said that Mr Hollins’ injuries were “truly life-changing”, and that “if a safe system of work had been in place before the incident, his injuries would have been prevented”.