An Australian energy company has introduced a new rule that its workers will not enter yards to read meters where a dog is not restrained as part of new safety measures.
Ergon Energy reported 71 injuries from dog bites, and 199 other incidents and close-calls, between July 2017 and October 2018.
“The safety of our employees has to come first and that means if there is a dog on a property that isn’t restrained – we won’t go in to do work of any kind,” Ergon Energy Area Manager, Wayne Alderman, said.
“We’ll talk to customers about what options are available and if no one is home, we will leave information to help them do a self-read.
“In some cases where there is a dangerous dog or known access issue, a remote read meter will be installed.”
The new Safe Entry measures will begin on 14 January and will apply to all properties regardless of whether they are in an urban or rural setting.
“Ergon Energy will work with our customers and communities to make the new safety measures work so we have a good outcome for our people and our customers,” Mr Alderman said.
Lauren ‘LJ’ Butler is the Assistant Editor of Utility magazine and has been part of the team at Monkey Media since 2018.
After completing a Bachelor of Media, Communications and Professional Writing at the University of Wollongong in 2014, and prior to writing about the utility sector, LJ worked as a Journalist and Sub Editor across the horticulture, hardware, power equipment, construction and accommodation industries with publishers such as Glenvale Publications, Multimedia Publishing and Bean Media Group.
