Medium voltage cable: safety before handling

Cable rated above 2 kV stores energy in its insulation, and cable that runs near other energized circuits picks up induced voltage. Both can be present with the circuit switched off and locked out. The stored charge in a long shielded cable can be lethal, and it does not announce itself.

Rules that are not negotiable

• Only the owning plant or utility releases medium voltage cable. A buyer does not, and a contractor working on site does not unless it holds that authority.
• De-energised is not the same as safe. Discharge, ground and prove dead before anything is cut or disconnected.
• Never cut a medium voltage cable to shorten it for transport without the owner's agreement and its own procedure.
• Treat cable that has been in service as potentially charged until the owner's electrician says otherwise.
• Keep reels away from energized equipment and from vehicle traffic until they are moved to a release area.

What a buyer needs before a review

Not a voltage reading. A release: confirmation from the owning plant or utility that the cable is out of service, disconnected, and available. That confirmation is what makes a lot reviewable, and it usually comes with the paperwork that also tells you what the cable is.

Transport and handling

Medium voltage reels are heavy and awkward, and a reel that has settled in a yard can shift when lifted. Lifting is by the reel's own arbor or a rated sling through the drum, never by the conductor or the jacket. Reels are chocked or strapped before they travel, because a rolling reel is a hazard on any grade.