The 2024 BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries counted 5,070 fatal work injuries in the United States, a rate of 3.3 per 100,000 full time equivalent workers. For electrical power-line installers and repairers the rate was 13.8, from 21 fatal injuries. For electricians it was 5.3.
An older BLS study explains why line work stands out. For 2011 to 2015, it counted 131 fatal injuries among electrical power-line installers and repairers, and electricity exposure was the leading cause, at 62 of the 131.
None of this says software fixes the problem. It says where the hazard is, and why tools that reduce the time people spend near energised equipment get attention. This post covers where automation helps and what to secure around it. It makes no claim that any product prevents injuries.
What's affected
Software now touches electrical work in several places:
- Remote monitoring and condition sensors, which can reduce the number of visits to energised equipment.
- Remote switching and SCADA, which operate field devices from a control room.
- Digital work permits and lockout tagout records, which track who isolated what.
- Procedure and manual assistants, including AI tools that answer questions about a job.
- Fleet, vehicle and tool software used by crews.
The rules for the work itself are older than the software and still apply. OSHA's 29 CFR 1910.269 requires employers to "establish a program consisting of energy control procedures, employee training, and periodic inspections" so that equipment is "isolated from the energy source and rendered inoperative" before servicing. It also says "only qualified employees may work on or with exposed energized lines or parts of equipment."
What to do now
- Keep helper tools read only. An assistant that answers "what is the isolation sequence for this feeder?" is fine. One that can issue a switching command is a different class of system and needs approval steps, as covered in our post on agents near physical equipment.
- Treat permit and isolation records as safety records. Log who changed them and when, and make edits visible. If a record can be altered silently, it cannot be trusted in an investigation.
- Secure remote switching paths. Separate accounts, multi factor sign in, and no shared passwords. Review any internet reachable device against the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list.
- Inventory crew facing software like any other system: versions, vendors and update history.
- Keep an offline fallback. A crew in a storm area cannot rely on a connection. Make sure procedures and isolation records work when the signal drops.
Why it matters
Remote and automated work only helps if the people who stay away from the hazard can trust what the software tells them. A wrong status on a screen, a tampered record or an unauthorised command is a safety event, not just a data event. That is the reason to apply supply chain and access controls to this software.
Quick check
Which BLS figure shows the fatal injury rate for electrical power-line installers and repairers in 2024?
13.8 per 100,000 full time equivalent workers, from 21 fatal injuries, against 3.3 for all workers.
Sources
- BLS, Rate and number of fatal work injuries in selected occupations, 2024
- BLS, National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in 2024 (released 19 February 2026)
- BLS Monthly Labor Review, Workplace hazards facing line installers and repairers (2018)
- OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.269, Electric power generation, transmission, and distribution
