Wiring a Generator plug

[Sodbuster]

The problem is how does the linesman or someone else potentially exposed to the "dead" lines like a tree crew, home owners, volunteers heaping out and others know the main is turned off ?. During an outage situation the utility triages the system and manually or remotely opens the switches up on the poles isolating circuits that are damaged so that the main circuits that can be re-energized. They then prioritize the isolated circuits depending on priorities and dispatch crews based on highest priorites. The typical switches on the poles do not ground the circuit. If a homeowner plugs a cheater cord into the house without flipping the main, they could energize the entire circuit on the isolated side of the switch. Depending on the fault on that circuit it could be intermittent and may not be faulted at that moment. Odds are the generator breaker will trip quickly but someone other than a linesman like the next door neighbor clearing branches off their yard may inadvertently get zapped. Dependent on if there is a transformer the neighbor may get hit with much higher voltage. Its doesnt take much. The utility crews when working on the "dead" lines do not trust homeowners to open the mains, they will "stick" the lines to interconnect them so that if they are inadvertently energized whatever is connected to them is shorted out. This will look like orange jumper cables that they clip to each conductor with a fiberglass pole that they attach prior to starting a repair. Another side effect is if the utility circuit is re-energized with a generator on line, its highly likely the generator will be destroyed as the generators phase will not be in phase with grid frequency.

Linesman and electricians both have several years of training on working with line voltage to minimize hazards. A home owner with the lights out and a credit card with no training can expose others outside their home as well as themselves to hazardous voltages. The only way to do it safe is a transfer switch or device that positively interlocks the main breaker so the breaker is open when the generator is connected.

Right, you are correct, and that is why I talked to a lineman. If I use a cheater cord, and fail to throw the main first, and hurt someone, I am at fault no different than running a stop sign and injury somebody. There is no way to get power to the road if I'm isolated, believe me I've checked it. With my generator running and the main thrown their is zero power coming out of the main panel.
As far as neighbors picking up sticks, they will get scolded by lineman to stay away from downed wires. Lineman are trained to treat every wire as if it were hot, no different that a gun owner, always assume it's loaded. As far as tree trimming goes they aren't allowed in the area until the power is restored. In case of a tree laying on the wires, our power company has a special crew for that.