A Northpower worker has been awarded $30,000 after he suffered serious burns in an electrical arc flash while working at a Wellington substation.
Northpower has accepted responsibility for its part in the incident which left a trainee electrician suffering second degree burns after working on live equipment.
In May 2014, Wellington Electricity engaged Northpower to carry out maintenance work on roadside transformers at Karori, Wellington. Two Northpower employees were working on the job when a bracket fell onto live contacts, causing an electrical short and a flashover.
The heat was so severe the injured man's trousers melted on his legs. He told the Wellington District Court last week he had pulled a transformer off a panel, and was then hit by the arc flash and flames.
Both Northpower and Wellington Electricity Lines Ltd were charged under the Electricity Act 1992 for causing or permitting work to be done in a manner dangerous to life. They both pleaded guilty to the charges laid by WorkSafe.