Shortly before breaking up for the summer holidays, children at Aberdeen’s Kingsford Primary took the chance to find out more about the power of playing safe around electricity when a class of primary 5 and 6 pupils welcomed Bobby Thompson and Graham Davis from Scottish Hydro Electric Power Distribution (SHEPD).
Bobby and Graham explained to the children how the electricity network works; the steps SHEPD engineers take to work safely; and most importantly how they can keep their friends and family safe around electricity both at home and outdoors. The class got the chance to try on some of the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) engineers wear as a last line of defence while they are working to keep the lights on.
SHEPD Project Manager Bobby Thompson said:
“Electricity is an incredible resource that continues to transform the way we live our lives. Our team is proud to power communities across the north of Scotland, delivering an essential service to our customers 365 days a year. The children had some great questions about the work we do which kept us on our toes.
“The energy distributed by our network is essential to modern life, but it can also be very dangerous if you don’t know the risks. Hopefully the children will now know how to keep themselves safe – but also how to look out for their friends and family this summer and beyond.
“They now know never to touch or go near electrical equipment as it could be live. When left alone the electricity in our network is safe, but anyone coming into direct contact with it could be badly hurt.
“There’s plenty of space to play safely away from electricity equipment, but if balls or toys ever do end up inside substations or close to overhead power lines, we can help if you call us on 0800 300 999. You should never try to get them back yourself. We asked the children to help us make sure their friends and families understand the risk so they know it’s not worth taking.”
Following their visit to the class, the children wrote to Bobby and Graham to thank them for taking the time to visit their class.
Lily wrote: “Thank you for coming to our class. Now we have the knowledge to be safe and can take caution around electricity. We now know to be careful. You were very kind. You were funny and helpful. Our class enjoyed it. You told us stuff that we didn’t know before.”
Ellie added: “I really enjoyed how at the end you let us try on your equipment. I hope you had fun because I definitely had learning about all the safety around electricity.”