ISSUE DATE: 03/21/2012

PROGRAM INFORMATION BULLETIN NO. P12-04

FROM: KEVIN G. STRICKLIN

Administrator for

Coal Mine Safety and Health

 NEAL H. MERRIFIELD 

Administrator for 

 Metal and Nonmetal Mine Safety and Health

SUBJECT: Reissue of P07-06 - Guy Wires of Poles Supporting High-Voltage Electric 

Power Lines

Scope

Coal and Metal and Nonmetal (MNM) mine operators, miners and miners’ 

representatives, electrical contractors, Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) 

enforcement personnel, and other interested parties should have this information.

Purpose

This Program Information Bulletin (PIB) summarizes and clarifies the requirements in 

Title 30 of the Code of Federal Regulations (30 CFR) for guy wires attached to poles 

supporting high-voltage electric power lines at both Coal and MNM mines. This 

bulletin is also intended to promote consistent enforcement of these standards, as well 

as promote safety.

Information

Title 30 CFR 56/57.12047 addresses guy wires of poles supporting high-voltage 

transmission lines at surface mines and surface areas of underground metal and 

nonmetal mines. The standards require that guy wires meet the grounding or insulator 

protection provisions of the National Electrical Safety Code, Part 2, entitled “Safety 

Rules for the Installation and Maintenance of Electric Supply and Communication 

Lines” (also referred to as National Bureau of Standards currently, National Institute of 
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Standards and Technology Handbook 81, November 1, 1961) and Supplement 2 thereof, 

issued March 1968. Title 30 CFR 77.705 addresses guy wires from poles supporting 

high-voltage transmission lines at surface mines and surface areas of underground coal 

mines. In using the term “transmission lines,” MSHA is referencing all high-voltage 

electric power lines. This coal standard requires guy wires to be securely connected to 

the system ground or be provided with insulators installed near the pole end of each 

guy wire. Compliance with the Coal and MNM standards assures that guy wires do 

not become energized and present a shock hazard to miners. 

Therefore, MSHA inspectors and mine operators should: 

• Ensure that each guy wire extending from power poles supporting energized 

high-voltage power lines are securely connected to the system ground or are 

provided with properly rated insulators installed near the pole end of each guy 

wire. Generally, the insulators are installed at least eight feet from the guy wire 

anchor point and/or in such manner that if the guy wire becomes loose it would 

not contact the energized conductors. 

• Examine the area around guy wire installations for potential electrical hazards 

before trimming weeds and brush or otherwise working in the vicinity of guy 

wires.

• Ensure that the guy wires are properly anchored to ground and that anchor 

points are marked for identification.

Background

There have been several fatalities attributed to energized guy wires. The most recent 

fatality occurred on July 27, 2006, at a crushed stone operation. The accident occurred 

when a laborer, with two years experience, struck the guy wire of a power pole while 

using a weed trimmer equipped with a circular steel blade to cut weeds and brush near 

the pole. The blade severed the guy wire, causing it to contact the 23,000-volt energized 

conductors of the pole mounted transformer and electrocuting the laborer. An 

illustration of the hazards leading to this fatality is attached. On May 4, 2006, an 

independent contractor at a coal mine was electrocuted while clearing brush and timber 

from the right-of-way of a 12,470-volt transmission line. The victim contacted an 

energized guy wire that was used to support a pole-mounted transformer bank 

installed in the right-of-way. On September 19, 1990, a fatality occurred at a coal mine 

while the victim was moving a loosened guy wire and contacted one phase of the 

energized high-voltage electric power line. These fatalities could have been prevented 

if the guy wires had been properly grounded or insulated in accordance with the above 

referenced standards.
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Authority

Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977

30 CFR, Parts 56/57.12047 and 77.705.

Contact Person(s)

Coal Mine Safety and Health

John Arrington, (202) 693-9549

E-mail: Arrington.John@dol.gov 

Metal and Nonmetal Mine Safety and Health

Chief of Safety

Brian Goepfert, (202) 693-9600

E-mail: Goepfert.Brian@dol.gov

Internet Availability

This program information bulletin may be viewed on the Internet by accessing MSHA's 

home page at http://www.msha.gov by choosing "Compliance Info."

Distribution

MSHA Program Policy Manual Holders

Miners’ Representatives

Coal Mine Operators

Metal and Nonmetal Mine Operators

Special Interest Groups
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