A man was hospitalized after tampering with electrical equipment at a Salt River Project substation in Mesa, police said.
Officers conducted a welfare check near Elliot and Signal Butte roads at about 5 a.m. on June 21, according to Detective Laura Cervantes, a Mesa police spokesperson.
Officers found the man had been tampering with equipment at an SRP facility and was shocked and injured, Cervantes said. He was taken to a hospital.
SRP identified the facility as a Mesa substation, spokesperson Patty Garcia-Likens said.
Substations are high-voltage utility facilities that switch power through the power grid and change electricity from one voltage level to another, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Industry safety guidance warns that the equipment used in substations can shock, burn or kill, which is why the facilities are fenced and marked with hazard signs.
Garcia-Likens said the incident did not cause any power disruptions for SRP customers in the area.
Police had not released the man’s identity and said they were still investigating why exactly the person was tampering with the substation.
Rey Covarrubias Jr. is a reporter for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. Email him at: rcovarrubias@azcentral.com, and connect with him on Instagram, Threads, Bluesky and X (formerly Twitter) at @ReyCJrAZ.
Man hospitalized after tampering with equipment at Mesa substation – azcentral.com and The Arizona Republic
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