Lepel District Energy and Gas Inspectorate of the Polotsk Inter-District Department of the Branch of the State Institution "State Energy and Gas Supervision" for the Vitebsk Region
In accordance with Order No. 98 dated 11.07.2023 of the Branch of the State Energy Supervision for the Vitebsk Region, for receiving citizens with applications for the implementation of administrative procedures, stipulated by clauses 10.5, 10.6 of the list of administrative procedures carried out by state bodies and other organisations upon applications from citizens, approved by Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus of 26 April 2010 No. 200, from 14.08.2023, weekly on Wednesdays, the working hours of the Lepel District Energy and Gas Inspectorate have been established from 8:00 to 20:00 without a lunch break.
Head: Gritsenok Leonid Petrovich
Telephone: 802132 6 46 71, 802132 6 98 06
Information letters on preparation for the Autumn-Winter period 2026/2027
Preparation for the Autumn-Winter period 2026/2027
Information leaflet for the public
Leaflet on energy safety in the home
STATE ENERGY AND GAS SUPERVISION informs!
Campaign "Safety starts with you!"
From 22 to 26 June 2026, the state institution "State Energy and Gas Supervision" will conduct a republican campaign aimed at preventing cases of electro-, thermal, and gas-related injuries among children during summer holidays: "Safety Starts with You!".
Campaign Objectives:
- to focus public attention on issues of electrical, thermal, and domestic gas safety among children during summer holidays;
- to foster children's understanding of safe handling of electrical, gas, and thermal (heat-using) equipment;
- to visually demonstrate potential hazards arising from the violation of equipment operating rules and their possible consequences (electric shock, gas leakage, fire, thermal burns, etc.);
- to train children on action algorithms in various emergency situations;
- to remind parents of the need to prioritise creating safe living conditions for children.
With the arrival of spring, the season of active fishing with long rods begins, which can lead to accidents from electric current.
The fact is that, without realising it, anglers are in a "risk" group regarding electrical injuries. Absorbed in their favourite pastime, anglers often forget about their surroundings, including the danger posed not only by water but also by what is high above their heads. This is due to the proximity of high-voltage power lines to and over water bodies.
Few people realise that the voltage of such lines can range from 380 volts to 750,000 volts. The most common crossings over water bodies are by lines with voltages of 10,000 volts and 110,000 volts. At such voltages, a person can be injured by electric current not only by touching live wires with their hand or fishing rod (line) but also by the approach of a person or an object held by them (fishing rod, line, landing net, etc.) to an impermissible distance, which is 0.6 m for 10,000-volt lines and 1 m for 110,000-volt lines. It should not be forgotten that the conductivity of a carbon fibre fishing rod is comparable to that of a copper wire!
Carbon fibre fishing rod after electric shock.
Near the points where power lines cross water bodies, warning signs about the danger of fishing near the lines are installed. However, many are not deterred, as evidenced by the sad statistics of recent years.
We would like to provide some examples.
In the Mstislavsky district of the Mogilev region, an 11th-grade student, while changing fishing spots, was walking along the lake shore with his fishing rod set up (a 7-meter carbon fibre rod). While moving through undergrowth near a 110,000-volt overhead power line support, with the rod raised, he brought the rod too close to the power line wire, resulting in an electric shock. As a result of the electric arc, the victim's clothes caught fire. The young man was taken to the hospital in serious condition, with a preliminary diagnosis of third-degree thermal burns covering 70% of his body.
In the Molodechno district, on the bank of the Berezina River, a fisherman touched a 35,000-volt overhead power line with his fishing rod, resulting in a fatal electric injury. It should be noted that a sign prohibiting fishing under the power line was located 2 metres from the accident site.
In Bobruisk, a father and son were fishing on a lake. According to the son, the father raised a 6-metre fishing rod and brought it too close to a 110,000-volt power line, resulting in an electric shock. He was taken to the hospital in serious condition with second to fourth-degree burns, where he died from his injuries.
Near the settlement of Starobin, employees of the Slutsk Electric Networks, during an inspection of a 110,000-volt line after it was de-energised, discovered a burnt fishing rod. According to eyewitnesses, despite warning signs, a fisherman was fishing under the 110,000-volt line and came into contact with high voltage. He was taken to the intensive care unit of the Soligorsk City Hospital in serious condition, where he died from his injuries.
Despite the work carried out by energy supply organizations and the preventive measures taken by the State Energy and Gas Supervision, there are incidents that cannot be foreseen and for which safety measures cannot be taken, such as installing warning signs or insulating wires.
For example, on the territory of the garage cooperative "TEC-3" in Minsk, a man approached the 110,000-volt overhead power line passing over the cooperative's territory with a 7-meter carbon fiber fishing rod. He was near his metal garage. As a result of an electric arc, the man sustained extensive burns to his body and was admitted to the hospital's intensive care unit in serious condition.
In the Mogilev region, a teenager born in 2007 was walking along the safety strip of a railway halt platform with his fishing rod extended. He touched a 27,500-volt overhead contact wire and was subjected to electric current, receiving thermal burns of degree I-III.
In the Gluboksky district of the Vitebsk region, a fisherman left home and did not return. His body was found on the bank of a marshy area in the morning, with his fishing rod in the water. A piece of fishing line with a float was found in the middle span of a 10,000-volt power line support, indicating that he had approached the power line wires at an impermissible distance. This area was not considered a possible fishing spot; water is present there only during the spring flood, and the area is marshy and overgrown with bushes, therefore safety measures were not implemented.
It should be noted that, in accordance with regulatory documents concerning the construction of power transmission lines, the distance from the ground to the wires of 10,000-volt lines at the lowest point of wire sag should be at least 6 meters in non-traffic areas. Considering a person's height and the length of a fishing rod, it is easy to understand that approaching the power transmission lines at an impermissible distance with the end of the rod is not difficult.
Take care of yourself and your loved ones, inform your relatives and friends about the dangers!
