According to Progress Energy, its Carolinas service area alone has 6,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines. Transmission lines are the interstate highways of the electricity delivery system, usually transporting power at between 100,000 and 500,000 volts.
Many of America’s transmission lines cross farmland, and there are precautions row-crop and livestock farmers can take to keep power lines above and below ground up and running. The most common types of line interference are due to field burn-offs and irrigation spraying, as thick smoke or spray can cause an electrical arc, or flash, on the line. When a flash occurs, the line may automatically shut down and disrupt power to homes and businesses.
Check out the flier (pictured here) Progress Energy put together for farmers. If you have questions, contact information for the utility can be found at the bottom of the page.
Progress Energy has power lines in 49 North Carolina counties: Anson, Beaufort, Bladen, Brunswick, Buncombe, Carteret, Caswell, Chatham, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Duplin, Durham, Edgecombe, Franklin, Granville, Greene, Halifax, Harnett, Haywood, Hoke, Johnston, Jones, Lee, Lenoir, Madison, Mitchell, Montgomery, Moore, Nash, New Hanover, Onslow, Pamlico, Pender, Person, Pitt, Randolph, Richmond, Robeson, Sampson, Scotland, Stanly, Translyvania, Vance, Wake, Wayne, Wilson and Yancey counties.