In 2025, more than 40 people were affected by incidents involving overhead electricity lines, NIE Networks has confirmed, with consequences including serious, life-changing injuries and loss of life.
With the launch of its new major public safety campaign, Look Up to Live, NIE Networks is urging people across Northern Ireland to stop and think before starting any job near overhead electricity lines, warning that a split-second misjudgement could prove fatal.
Rolling out across TV, radio, digital and out-of-home advertising, the campaign is designed to cut through routine, challenge complacency and make the risks impossible to ignore. Its message is clear: look up, plan ahead and never assume you have enough clearance.
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Damien Monaghan, Head of Health and Safety at NIE Networks explains the purpose of the campaign:
“Farming, construction, maintenance and domestic outdoor activity can bring people, vehicles and equipment dangerously close to overhead power lines, so this campaign is a vital reminder that the risk is real. Too often, the danger is overlooked or underestimated during routine jobs, particularly when people are busy, distracted or under pressure. It takes only one mistake, one missed hazard or one assumption about clearance from our equipment for the consequences to be devastating. The impact of incidents is felt far beyond the person directly involved, and one incident is one to many. They can affect families, businesses and the wider community and leave a lasting trauma behind. To anyone working in the vicinity of our equipment, our message couldn’t be simpler – Look Up to Live.”
Through Look Up to Live, NIE Networks is delivering life-saving messages to those most at risk, such as farmers and agricultural workers, contractors, machinery users, mobile elevated work platform operators, construction and maintenance workers, and those carrying out DIY:
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Speaking about NIE Networks’ commitment to safety, Suzanne Huntley, Safety Manager at NIE Networks, said:
“As the owner and operator of Northern Ireland’s electricity network, safety sits at the heart of everything we do, from protecting the public to maintaining our equipment and delivering a reliable service. But we continue to see far too many incidents involving overhead electricity lines. Many people do not realise just how dangerous they can be if you get too close. They are part of our everyday landscape, but they need to be taken into account when planning activities near them.”
The Look Up to Live campaign is designed to turn that awareness into action, encouraging people to pause, look up and plan ahead before any work begins near overhead electricity lines.
Anyone working near overhead electricity lines is being urged to follow this essential safety advice:
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