Powerline Safety

Thursday, February 19, 2026

Farmers, it’s in your hands

By Stacy Berry

Across the Prairies, hundreds of powerline contacts with farm equipment occur annually, and most of those incidents are preventable.

Farm equipment is large and getting larger. According to Kyle Hanson, with Rocky Mountain Equipment in Westlock, Alta., “the two largest pieces of equipment are combines and drills.” The largest drills they deal with have “transport heights of 16 feet 9 nine inches and 15 feet 9 inches, respectively,” whereas the largest combine has a “maximum height of 158 inches (13 feet 2 inches).”

Why would farmers care about these numbers? Because farm equipment can exceed the powerline heights guaranteed for agricultural settings. Machinery that doesn’t exceed the height may have only an inch or two to spare.

In Manitoba, a load is considered ‘oversized’ at 4.8 metres (15 feet 10 inches) tall by Manitoba Hydro. In Saskatchewan, SaskPower requires permitting at 5.18 metres (17 feet). Alberta has an agricultural height limit of 4.15 metres (13 feet 7 inches).

These height limitations can impact farmers in two ways. First and foremost is personal safety. According to the Electrical Safety Authority in Ontario, between 2012 and 2021, some 1,393 overhead powerline contacts and 19 fatalities occurred in that province alone.

Secondly, if your equipment is over height and you strike a line without a permit, you are at fault, and the cost to repair the line is on you.

Alexandra Shuttleworth farms with her family in Balzac, Alta., and they have had two contacts with powerlines. She recalls the most recent encounter: “The field had been farmed (by us) for years; been under that line many times. We were using the same drill we’d been using for several years, with no updates – not even new tires. It was really hot that day. The wire must have sagged down, and the air seeder grabbed it with a shank as it went under.”

The other incident occurred almost 20 years ago and was in a pasture setting. “The power pole had rotted from where it was in a small slough, so the wire was sagging way down, maybe eight feet from the ground. We had fencing to do, and the post pounder made contact with the line. That one could have been really bad; one of our hired guys was right there and could have been killed.”

In both incidents, the utility company was going to charge the Shuttleworth farm for fixing the line, but ended up cancelling the bill.

Shuttleworth says they “learned their lesson” and they are much more careful now about working around lines. “We avoid that entrance to the field whenever possible, and drill line safety into our hired guys. We also learned that FortisAlberta will measure lines annually and measure your equipment as a free service.”

If a farmer strikes a line, once the initial mayhem clears, the first question they might have is, “How high was the line before I hit it?”

Peter Chura, media relations officer with Manitoba Hydro, explains, “(active) line height can be measured by a laser truck, or with a cable height meter. We wouldn’t know exactly the height of a line pre-accident, but we know the height of the poles, the span length, the type of conductor, and line sag. We may have a measurement from a previous move in our database. Using that information, we can estimate what the height of the conductor was.”

Scott McGregor, media relations consultant with SaskPower, echoes, “Powerlines are constructed according to standards aligned to Canadian Standards Association (CSA). There’s no way of verifying clearance height (post-incident, but) we would have records of the clearance standard the line should have met.”

McGregor adds, “Several factors may contribute to a perceived change in clearance, such as changes to terrain, damage to power poles, temperature, et cetera.”

How are line height and load dimension minimum and maximums decided?

Lauren Aspden, communications advisor at the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC), explains, “The Alberta government is responsible for updating legislation and regulations. The AUC is responsible for updating its rules and standards to reflect those regulatory changes.

“The CSA develops safety standards for power pole heights. The CSA standards would be adopted/modified in Alberta by the Safety Codes Council (SCC), specifically the Electrical Utilities Sub-Council, broadly overseen by Municipal Affairs.

“Questions specifically about the legislative or regulatory review process can be directed to Municipal Affairs, or sent directly to the SCC,” Aspden continues. “AUC regularly reviews and amends its rules, and updates often follow government policy changes. Stakeholders are invited to provide feedback during consultation periods before AUC rules are revised. Pole and wire height are not listed in AUC rules, as they are addressed by the SCC.”

If producers in other regions of the Prairies have questions about legislative review, they can contact Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure or the Government of Saskatchewan.

Even if legislation is going to change, it will be a slow process, and farmers still have to farm. So, how do you prevent powerline strikes?

McGregor says, “Preparation is key. Make sure to plan a route that avoids as many lines as possible. The Look Up and Live map (in Saskatchewan) is a great tool to see above-ground powerlines in the province. Use a spotter when you can, fully lower or retract equipment before crossing under the power line.”

Chura reminds farmers to “take out Manitoba Hydro’s Farm Equipment Clearance Permits. Producers provide maps of travel routes and heights of equipment travelling, and Manitoba Hydro will measure lines or provide clearance using sag calculations. Taking out a (permit) will ensure line contact is mitigated.”

According to Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridor’s press secretary Husam Khalo, “if your load exceeds 4.15 metres, you must obtain an over-dimensional permit before travelling on public roads. Annual permits are available for loads up to 5.0 metres, while single-trip permits are required for anything taller.”

The permit will confirm that your route avoids travel under powerlines where possible and guarantees that line height exceeds your load height. If your load exceeds the current height, arrangements can be made to raise the line.

Regardless of the province, if you need a line raised, the cost is on the customer requesting it, and the line will not be maintained at that height.

McGregor explains that “the cost of line raises depends on several factors, including the raise required, existing infrastructure, and voltage. Normally, line raises to accommodate oversized equipment are temporary.”

Despite all available mitigation steps, powerline strikes still occur. If an incident happens on your farm, remain in your vehicle and call 911. There are safe exit procedures for leaving a vehicle if it is not safe to remain in it.

Once your immediate safety is assured, reporting protocols differ slightly per province.

In Saskatchewan, “immediately report it to the SaskPower Outage Centre (306-310-2220),” explains McGregor. SaskPower will proceed to fix the line as fast as possible. “SaskPower will cover the entire cost of necessary repairs. There are certain situations where a customer may be responsible for the costs, but those are rare.”

Chura: “Call our emergency line (1-888-624-9376), and staff will attend (the site) to assess, make safe, and repair. If we know who damaged our equipment, they will be billed if they were at fault.”

Aspden: “Refer to the Utility Safety Partners guidelines on overhead powerlines. Farmers should contact their transmission or distribution facility owner for information regarding safety and protocol (as) there are (multiple) across Alberta.”

FortisAlberta declined to comment when contacted for this article.

Powerline strikes with agricultural equipment are avoidable if steps are taken by farmers and awareness is increased about equipment sizing and line height minimums.

Shuttleworth hopes that by sharing her experience, she can save at least one person from repeating her event and possibly having a worse outcome. “Get any new or updated equipment measured – even if you just have new tires. And talk to a lawyer before you come to any agreement with the utility company.” BF