Guy's day on the power lines service crew! | Guy Martin

right trying to walk with as much confidence but that's not really happening we've done all the what generation bit but we haven't even looked at the cables that join them all together so that's why we thought we could have a closer look yeah on average 20 pounds of your yearly electricity bill goes towards the maintenance of the National Grid here we are on it but I did that without any hands well if I fell from here that's messy the electricity industry was nationalized in 1948 huge investment quickly doubled the size of the grid a good gang can erect a pylon average height 136 feet and made up of about 400 pieces of metal in one day the high voltage Network that was installed in the 50s is still used to this day sure footed as cat burglars the men clamber about this steel Network as though they were a safety net below While most of us get giddy standing on a chair it requires constant maintenance and today guy will join a service crew to see if he could make it in this dangerous world [Music] the National Grid training center in Nottinghamshire is one of the energy sector's most important locations every type of electrical infrastructure is here so that Engineers can be taught how to keep the country's lights on [Music] riskiest job is that of the linesman [Music] thank you very much linesmen are the engineers who not only service the 400 000 volt network but they have to do it on pylons measuring 45 meters [Music] foreign there are only 100 men and women qualified for this work and so guy finds himself doing one of the country's most exclusive jobs what years you've been doing this one here there's still a lot of work [Music] no one's died no one's done no one died ever not a National Grid so you see no frazzled 922 is another 22 no one fall off no holy some record in it and I'm just up here now and I'm thinking pretty comfortable do well yeah yeah look at that you're still there you feel so bad well look at this is nothing to you boys did it's um over a long period you become accustomed to it yeah Fair Way or apparently like I said it's such high risk I mean you're working at high you're working next well usually outside live there's so many things that can go wrong you've got to be absolutely on the ball with it all yeah [Music] although the line being worked on is always electrically isolated the rest of the wires remain live all right mate yeah just just come around the biggest Hazard is maneuvering in mid-air while trusting that the right lines have been switched off right just with this just be careful like it's gonna be a little bit loose yeah that's obviously a little bit of how's your safety [Music] [Music] all right I'll be right yeah yeah welcome power lines aren't insulated saving weight but there's still several tons and need a winch system to take the strain before any maintenance tasks go back in this basket now yeah just right more careful this will be a little looser now okay taken away after an hour of climbing and preparation the maintenance work can finally start just be careful with these when you take them out yeah they will fall a pylon steel components last between 30 and 40 years and today one of the load-bearing joints is being upgraded I'll wind mine on at the same time you're going to wind your you know okay okay okay so it's just nice and gentle and then just watch as it gets to the end it's a bit of a like finger Trapper so just be careful your fingers yeah just make sure it's on yep another Rod it's a job that is being gradually carried out on all 22 000 of Britain's high voltage pylons it spreads the load out of a further distance so it's not having all the pressure on this amount but the pressure's on this amount the exactly I just wind it back up yeah another room another one mate hold it on and then same again I'll just wrap it on [Music] he's a natural knife [Music] [Music] [Music] the job is complete and guy has found his calling I don't know how this job at 17 and I won't be fixing trucks you know I love them jobs where if you get it wrong you are knuckus that's what I lie that's what yeah [Music] we don't know we're born do we like 50 of the world has an unreliable power supply is going to be on go down the supermarket to charge the phone up not like here right let me get the number right 99.9998 reliable right and that's all down to the folks climbing these piles okay you know what we're doing the cost across all of the bill payers 5p a day to pay for all of this tell me thank you very much [Laughter] the grid is growing at an unprecedented rate nearly 3 000 miles of new lines and cables are planned to support new wind farms or power stations are having to make way as guy is about to find out

Channel: Guy Martin Proper

Views: 89,290

Keywords: Guy Martin, F1, Russia, Channel 4, Isle of Man TT, Speed with Guy Martin, Guy Martin Proper, Chernobyl, Jenson Button

Id: U-ukpk8H5P0

Length: 7min 20sec (440 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 12 2023