The company is contesting the citations. The proposed penalty: $49,650 for a life lost and two workers injured. OSHA's maximum fine structure often feels disconnected from the actual cost of cutting corners on safety.
The stakes: These weren't obscure regulations — maintaining clearance from live power lines is Workplace Safety 101. A designated observer is literally someone whose job is to watch and yell "STOP" before contact happens. Basic safeguards that should have been automatic.
OSHA's findings: Three serious violations cited — the company failed to ensure workers maintained minimum safe distance from the live line, didn't assign a designated observer to monitor approach distances and warn the crew, and the job briefing didn't cover special precautions for working under energized transmission lines.
What happened: A crew from Primoris Services Corp. (operating as Primoris T&D Services LLC) was replacing a utility pole at a Pinellas County worksite in August 2025. The pole contacted an energized overhead transmission line during the operation, killing one lineman instantly.
A Duke Energy contractor is facing a $49,650 fine after a lineman was electrocuted to death when a utility pole touched a live transmission line. Two other workers were hospitalized. Federal investigators found the company failed basic safety protocols that could have prevented the tragedy.
5/5 🧵
The company is contesting the citations. The proposed penalty: $49,650 for a life lost and two workers injured. OSHA's maximum fine structure often feels disconnected from the actual cost of cutting corners on safety.
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4/5 🧵
The stakes: These weren't obscure regulations — maintaining clearance from live power lines is Workplace Safety 101. A designated observer is literally someone whose job is to watch and yell "STOP" before contact happens. Basic safeguards that should have been automatic.
3/5 🧵
OSHA's findings: Three serious violations cited — the company failed to ensure workers maintained minimum safe distance from the live line, didn't assign a designated observer to monitor approach distances and warn the crew, and the job briefing didn't cover special precautions for working under energized transmission lines.
2/5 🧵
What happened: A crew from Primoris Services Corp. (operating as Primoris T&D Services LLC) was replacing a utility pole at a Pinellas County worksite in August 2025. The pole contacted an energized overhead transmission line during the operation, killing one lineman instantly.
1/5 🧵
A Duke Energy contractor is facing a $49,650 fine after a lineman was electrocuted to death when a utility pole touched a live transmission line. Two other workers were hospitalized. Federal investigators found the company failed basic safety protocols that could have prevented the tragedy.