Seattle City Light repaired a streetlight today after a customer reported that his dog was shocked when it sniffed a small, metal plate at the base of a concrete streetlight pole on 32nd Avenue S between Atlantic and Massachusetts streets. The dog was not injured.
Seattle City Light repaired a streetlight today after a customer reported that his dog was shocked when it sniffed a small, metal plate at the base of a concrete streetlight pole on 32nd Avenue S between Atlantic and Massachusetts streets. The dog was not injured.
The metal plate is about 3 inches wide by 8 inches tall and covers the wiring for the pole. A repair crew measured 109 volts of electricity on the plate and repaired the equipment immediately.
City Light continues to investigate the cause of the voltage. It appears there has been recent construction near the pole and a bolt was missing from the plate.
Since this was a concrete pole, there was no voltage in the pole itself. There are 15 similar poles in the surrounding neighborhood. City Light checked all of them and found no other incidents of contact voltage. Crews also will check 60 other similar poles in City Light’s service territory as a precaution.