If you’re planning to undertake home renovation tasks over the holidays Ergon Energy is urging you to be aware of potential electrical hazards lurking in your property.

This year alone the Queensland Ambulance Service was called to nearly 500 electrical shock and electrocution emergencies, however Ergon Energy’s Community Safety Manager Aaron Smith has a few simple steps that will keep home renovators safe.

“Of all the hazards associated with home renovations, electricity is not only the best concealed, but also the most dangerous,” he said. “So before cutting, drilling or hammering nails into walls, floors and ceilings, home handymen should thoroughly check for electrical wires behind them.

“First and foremost if someone is not confident of locating hidden wires they should always call a licensed electrician. Locating wires in ceilings can be done by first switching off all power at the meterbox then taking a look around the roof space with a torch and visually sighting where the cables run.

“Similarly, electricity cabling underneath timber floors can generally found by getting under the home and tracking the route of wires. But wires in walls are more difficult to locate and are usually found within a metre of light switches, lights and power points.

“However, Ergon always recommends getting a licensed electrician in to locate concealed power around the home, ” Mr Smith said.

And while handymen all over Queensland will be having a go at many DIY jobs around the home this holiday period, Mr Smith said that under no circumstances should they attempt electrical work.

“Putting it simply, electricity is a killer and unqualified people who attempt electrical work are not only taking theirs and other’s lives in their hands, they could kill others and they are breaking the law,” he said.

“So any electrical work at all, no matter how small, should only ever be undertaken by a licensed electrician.”

Submitted by:
Rod Rehbein
Senior Corporate Communications Advisor

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