Coming in contact with energized equipment and wires will always be a dangerous responsibility. Improvements have been made, and statistically, the number of fatalities has decreased slightly in the last decade, but the danger remains.

In January 2025, the Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI) released its annual report on occupational electrical injury and fatalities. Compiled from data on occupational injuries and fatalities provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, it covers 2011 to 2023. In its report, ESFI examines data specifically regarding occupational electrical injuries and fatalities. The report is intended to help decision-makers better allocate safety resources to workers.

According to the data, a relatively small percentage of workplace fatalities, 5.6%, were due to contact with electricity. The data also show that the number of electrical fatalities per year has been trending slowly downward since 2011, although the number has been relatively consistent, within a range of approximately 100 to 140 per year. There were 120 reported electrical fatalities in 2023, which was the most recent year measured.

The report made several other notable findings. The leading cause of electrical workplace fatalities was almost evenly split between working on or near live wires and coming in contact with overhead wires.

The report also examines fatalities according to profession and found that electrical occupations, such as electricians, electric power installers, electrical equipment assemblers and others account for 24% of the total number of electrical workplace fatalities. The remaining 76% of fatalities happened to workers in nonelectrical professions, such as laborers, pipefitters, painters, roofers and others.

The report found that a little more than a third of electrical workplace fatalities occurred at private residences. Slightly less than a third occurred at industrial sites, followed by streets and highways and public buildings.

The report also examined nonfatal electrical injuries that were serious enough to result in time away from work. There was a total of 3,260 such injuries in the combined years of 2021 and 2022. This represents a 21% decrease from the previous two-year period.