The Current State of Electrical Injury in the Energy Industry

Abstract

Statistical data on the dynamics of events that led to fatal accidents at work in the period 2017—2020 indicate the presence in Ukraine of a serious problem associated with electrical injuries. The increase in the level of risk of electrical injuries is typical for enterprises of power plants, substations and electric networks of extra-high voltage, which are under the control of the Ministry of the Fuel and Energy Complex of Ukraine (FEC). This is due to the operation of a large number of power and switching equipment, which has worked for many years, needs reconstruction and requires an increase in the number of repair work. Therefore, the analysis of the current state of electrical injuries with fatal consequences at the enterprises of the Ukrainian fuel and energy complex for the development of proposals for improving the occupational safety management system in the energy industry is an urgent task. Analysis of the current state of fatal industrial injuries at Ukrainian enterprises showed that in 2018—2019, there is a tendency to an increase in the level of fatal industrial injuries in the energy sector of Ukraine. According to the types of events during 2019, the largest number of fatal accidents in the energy industry is due to electric shock (55 % of the total number of fatalities at the enterprises of the industry). The main goal of the modernized l management system in the energy industry, as follows from the studies carried out, is to minimize the risk of electrical injuries in electrical installations of ultra-high voltage classes. The modernization of the management system for labor protection in the energy industry will have the introduction of a closed cyclical information loop, which contains a sequence of logical decisions aimed at minimizing the risk of electrical injury and occupational diseases from exposure to electrical energy. To assess the risk of electrical injuries, it is advisable to use a cause-and-effect model of risk for personnel during the maintenance and repair of electrical installations, taking into account the cause-and-effect relationships of electrical injuries.