THUNDER BAY — Synergy North –the electric utility that serves Thunder Bay and Kenora – is cautioning homeowners who may be replacing their household plumbing.
With potentially thousands of Thunder Bay homes affected by pinhole water leaks over the past 18 months or so, many residents have already replaced their copper pipe with plastic.
Synergy North issued an advisory Tuesday about the risk of electrical hazards from swapping out water lines.
It said homeowners and contractors should always check to ensure the electrical system remains properly grounded after removing copper pipe.
"When performing this type of work, the continuous grounding path may be interrupted as plastic piping is not an electrical conductor," the advisory stated.
It said replacing copper with plastic may also interrupt bonding between the plumbing system and the home grounding system.
"In this situation, the homeowner will be required to replace the bonding system to ensure that a conductive path is established."
In order to avoid damage to the household electrical system, Synergy North said homeowners who are unsure about the requirements should contact an authorized electrical contractor.
It said any work should be performed in line with Electrical Safety Authority Codes and Standards.
The utility also noted that homeowners doing work on exterior underground water lines must submit a locate request via Ontario One Call to ensure other underground services aren't damaged during excavation.
