power lines

9 Stories

US Could Update Grid With Technique Other Nations Use

'Reconductoring' can double lines' capacity, adding room for wind and solar

(Newser) - The US added just 251 miles of high-voltage transmission lines last year, another in a series of declines, though the nation greatly needs more power. The process is slowed by as much as a decade by the need for approval from various governments and agencies, as well as to address...

Birds Found Under Power Lines Didn't Die the Way You'd Expect

A surprising number of them had been shot, study finds

(Newser) - You might understandably think that most of the birds found dead under power lines had been electrocuted. But you'd be wrong, at least according to a recent study flagged by the New York Times . Wildlife biologist Eve Thomason of Boise State University and her colleagues repeatedly walked or drove...

Paraglider Catches Power Lines
Paraglider Catches Power Lines
Feb 21, 2020 12:10 AM CST

Paraglider Catches Power Lines

Man was trapped for three hours before rescuers freed him

(Newser) - A paraglider spent three hours trapped in power lines before being rescued in northern California. The paraglider, who was not immediately identified, was facing the ground with the wires as his only support when first responders arrived Wednesday night, said officials with the Olivehurst Fire Department. Olivehurst is about 40...

Her BF Was Electrocuted After a Crash. Then, More News

Destiny Wallace finds out she's pregnant with Fabian Garnica's child after he steps on power line

(Newser) - A 20-year-old Texas man survived a collision with a utility pole on Saturday but, sadly, didn't survive much long after. An injured Fabian Garnica was electrocuted when he stepped out of his vehicle and directly onto a downed power line at the site of the single-vehicle crash along Highway...

Utility Poles Start Falling, With One Landing on Couple's SUV

Occupants survive impact, live wires all over road

(Newser) - A couple says they're lucky to be alive after dozens of power lines fell on the Seattle street they were driving on, with one wooden public utility pole striking their SUV, the AP reports. "If it had hit the glass rather than the roof, it would have just...

Detroit Has Deadly Problem With Power Lines

Girl, 12, died because of a downed line in September

(Newser) - The electrocution of a 12-year-old Detroit girl has exposed a new risk in a city that's turning the corner nearly two years after emerging from bankruptcy: miles of obsolete power lines that could fall from poles and turn deadly. K'Brianna Griffin was killed in September when she came...

Cops: Bus Driver Asked Child to Move Downed Power Line

The 11-year-old was burned

(Newser) - A Pennsylvania school bus driver is facing multiple charges after allegedly asking an 11-year-old student to move a downed electrical wire earlier this month, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports. On April 15, a goose flew into a transformer, bringing down electrical lines and trapping the bus. Authorities say the driver, 60-year-old...

Detroit Teen Uses Wood to Knock Friend Off Live Wire

Boy brushed against wire from downed power line

(Newser) - A 13-year-old Detroit boy thought fast when his friend was nearly electrocuted this morning: He used a piece of wood to knock the 14-year-old off the live wire, and may have saved his friend's life—while remaining unharmed himself. The boys were walking home from school, which was closed...

Odd Theft Leaves Village in the Dark

Repeated cable robberies halt trains in Britain

(Newser) - A rash of power line thefts is dogging Britain. An entire English village lost electricity for several hours on Friday after thieves stole some 3,000 feet of cable—and it’s the second such theft in that county alone since August, This Is Lincolnshire reports. It’s a running...

9 Stories
Most Read on Newser