EN 
PT_BR 
According to a survey carried out by Cemig, 3,650 vehicle collisions were recorded on the company's poles in the state of Minas Gerais.
These accidents damaged the energy supply to more than 1.3 million of the company's customers. The average is ten car collisions with poles per day in its concession area, which covers 774 cities in Minas Gerais.
In the Metropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte alone, Cemig recorded 647 incidents, which interrupted the electricity supply to around 335 thousand people.
Marcelo Roger da Silva, manager of Expansion and Preventive Maintenance for Medium and Low Voltage at Cemig's Metropolitan Distribution, warns: “When there are wires lying on the ground, it is possible that, when leaving the car, the person suffers an electric shock, which can be up to 13 thousand volts, if it is a medium voltage network”.
“The only case in which a person should leave the vehicle immediately is in fire situations. On these occasions, if it is necessary to get out, the person should never touch the structure of the car and the ground at the same time, because it will become the path between the electrical current and the ground. This can be fatal or cause very serious burns,” he explained.
The company also highlighted that when a pole is damaged, an emergency team is deployed to assess the situation and define the actions that must be taken.
“Generally, the services are complex and require time and several teams, as they involve isolating the affected area, removing the car and replacing or rebuilding the broken pole and the electrical network, which causes disruption to traffic and the population”, said the expert.
In several incidents, the company temporarily supports the pole knocked down by collision with a piece of wood – a technical procedure that leaves the structure with resistance similar to its original state.
Costs
Cemig informed that the driver who caused the accident has up to 60 days to compensate for the damage caused to the network. The pole structure alone costs, on average, around R$ 4 thousand. This value can rise to up to R$ 10 thousand in case of damage to equipment, such as transformers and reclosers.
