You’ve seen them … those green or gray metal boxes in your or your neighbors’ yards, which may seem like an eyesore but have a very important job.

These boxes contain pad mount transformers – part of CREC’s equipment needed to deliver electricity to your home.  

While these boxes look innocent enough, they can be potentially dangerous and must be recognized and respected for the electrical equipment they contain. Make sure that children are taught to never sit on, try to open, or play around them.

Here are more safety guidelines for working around pad mount transformers:

• Do not paint, enhance, cover, block, or otherwise obstruct pad mount transformers
• Keep shrubs and structures at a distance – CREC needs at least 10 feet of clearance in front of the transformer (the side that is padlocked), as well as six feet of clearance on the other three sides.
• Consider the mature height of any trees you intend to plant so as not to obstruct the transformer when fully grown.
• Make sure plant roots will not grow to interfere with wires and buried cables.
• ALWAYS call 811 to have utility lines marked prior to digging around a transformer to avoid hitting an underground cable.
• Contact us if the transformer becomes unlocked or if it or any other type of utility equipment appears to be damaged.

Remember, these boxes provide electricity to your home. Limiting or restricting access to the box in your yard by us could delay restoration work during an outage or during routine maintenance checks and create a serious safety hazard. By respecting all utility equipment, including meters and transformers, you are helping to keep the power on and your CREC workers safe.

For more information on staying safe around pad mount transformers, please visit the CREC website, or SafeElectricity.org, or call us at 800-392-3709.