VELVA – Verendrye Electric Cooperative will pay a $5,000 penalty for a violation of the North Dakota One Call law that resulted in injury to a Voltaire resident.

The North Dakota Public Service Commission agreed Tuesday to prepare an order for a $7,500 fine, with $2,500 suspended for five years based on no further violations.

Verendrye previously argued for a $1,000 fine rather than the minimum $10,000 penalty proposed by the PSC. State law allows for a penalty up to $25,000.

Verendrye was charged with a violation of the One Call law last December after its contractor failed to properly mark the cooperative’s underground line within the legally accepted margin of error.

Warren Colby, Voltaire, filed a complaint last October after hitting a 15-kilovolt Verendrye power line July 28 while digging by hand with a post hole digger. In response to Colby’s 811 call for line locator assistance, Verendrye’s contractor, Summit Utility Services, had sent a representative to locate and mark the line. The marking was just outside the two-foot margin of error, and Colby struck the power line.

Colby had told the PSC at a hearing that he suffered some lingering injury from the electrical shock. However, he said his primary concern is that the commission improve the One Call law to prevent future incidents.

Summit had stated its technician acted correctly, using state-of-the-art locator equipment, but the type of line is among the most difficult to detect. The signal on the line didn’t show up at the actual location, resulting in the marking falling outside the parameter of two feet on either side of the estimated location. The company took responsibility for line repair.

The potential for serious injury or death prompted the PSC to consider a heavier fine than Verendrye requested. It also considered that Verendrye did everything correctly in this case, which involved a contractor’s miscalculation.

“We are happy that they did reduce the fine,” Verendrye spokesman Tom Rafferty said. “We fully support the 811 law and encourage people to call 811 before they dig.”

In looking back 30 years, this is the first time Verendrye has been fined or appeared before the PSC on a violation, he said. He added the cooperative is glad Colby escaped more serious injury.

Colby said he believes more needs to be done than a $5,000 fine that was a compromise among commissioners who disagreed on the penalty. He said he brought the complaint not for himself, although the incident involving him was quite serious.

“I am doing it because it will happen again if they don’t make some changes. They are not willing to make changes,” Colby said. “Why not double check your work? A person’s life is dependent on it. I do not want to see this happen again.”