What should our HOA board do when a utility transformer or pedestal on common area is hit, open or leaking?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised October 19, 2026

What an HOA board does when a car hits a green utility box, or a transformer on common area stands open or leaks oil: who to call, safety, cleanup and prevention.

Part of the HOA board handbook: vendors, projects and upkeep.

The short answer

The green box is almost never the association's. Pad-mounted transformers belong to the electric utility, and the smaller pedestals usually belong to the electric, phone, cable or fiber company. That means the board's job is not to fix it. The job is to get the right company out fast, keep people away until the crew arrives, protect the association's own property around it, tell owners what is happening, and make sure the site is put back the way it was. If a vehicle is against the box, anything is sparking or smoking, or anyone is hurt, call 911 first and the utility's emergency line second. If the door is open or the box is tipped, dented or leaking, call the utility's emergency line right away even if nothing seems to be happening. Rules and responsibilities vary by state, by the utility's tariff and by your plat and easements, so treat this guide as general education, not legal advice.

Figure out whose box it is

Do this before anything breaks. Walk the community with a site map and log every piece of equipment on common area. A pad-mounted transformer is the large green or gray cabinet on a concrete pad with a padlocked front door and a sticker or stencil with an equipment number. Electric pedestals and the shorter phone, cable and fiber pedestals usually have the company's name molded into the lid. Then list the equipment the association does own, which is easy to confuse with the utility's: irrigation controllers, backflow preventers, gate operators, pool equipment, entrance lighting and, in some communities, the streetlights. Whether streetlights belong to the association or the utility depends on your contract or the utility's lighting tariff, so check the bill. For each item, write down the owner, the equipment number and the emergency phone number, and keep the list with the board's emergency contacts. The plat shows the easement the equipment sits in. Our guide on responding to a utility easement request on HOA common area explains how to read one.

The first hour

If a car has hit a transformer, the driver should stay in the vehicle unless it is on fire and should not back away from the box. Pedernales Electric Cooperative, a Texas utility, tells drivers to warn bystanders to stay at least 50 feet away. If a driver has to get out, the co-op says to jump clear without touching the car and land with both feet together, then shuffle away without lifting one foot at a time. Repeat that advice to anyone who calls the board. Whoever is on scene for the association should stand well back, call 911 and the utility, and give the equipment number if it can be read from a distance. Do not touch the box, close the door, push back a cabinet or move debris. Keep children, pets and the landscape crew out of the area. If the board has cones or caution tape, set them far outside the box, never against it. Take photos from a distance once the scene is safe: the box, the vehicle, its plate, the tire marks and any damage to association property. Write down the time of each call and the ticket or reference numbers.

If the box is leaking oil

Transformers are filled with insulating oil, and a cracked tank can leak into the soil. Report a leak to the utility as an emergency even if the box looks intact. Do not hose the oil away, cover it with mulch, or let anyone dig or haul the stained soil. Cleanup belongs to the equipment owner. Older equipment adds one more reason for care. The EPA says PCBs were used in transformers and were banned from manufacture in the U.S. in 1979, and leaks from transformers that contain PCBs are one way they get into the environment. Nobody can tell what is in the oil by looking at the box, so the board should not guess. Ask the utility in writing whether the oil was tested and what it found, and ask for written confirmation that the soil cleanup is finished. Turn off any irrigation zone that would wash over the spot until the cleanup is done. Keep the utility's answer in the association's records, because a future buyer, lender or landscape contractor may ask.

Outages, fencing and owner notice

A damaged transformer often means an outage for the homes it serves, and the repair can take a few hours or several days if the pad has to be rebuilt. Ask the utility for an estimate and pass it on. If the crew fences off part of a common area, owners need to know why and for how long. In Colorado, section 38-33.3-302.5(3) requires an association that restricts owners' access to a common element for more than 72 hours to send electronic or written notice with the reason, the estimated end date and a phone number or email for questions, and to post the same notice at each access point. Texas and Florida have no matching statute, but the same notice is good practice everywhere. A notice the board can adapt: 'On [date], a vehicle struck the electric utility's transformer on the common area at [location]. The utility owns the equipment and is making repairs. Please stay outside the fenced area. Power to [streets] may be off until [estimate]. Do not touch the equipment. Report sparks, smoke or leaking oil to [utility emergency number] and 911. Questions: [contact].'

Repairs to the association's property

The utility will usually pursue the driver for its own equipment. The association has its own losses to recover: crushed irrigation lines, ruts in the turf, a broken curb, a damaged fence or bollard, and the sod and shrubs the crew pulls out to reach the pad. Make a list with photos within a day or two, before the utility's contractor finishes, and send it to the utility's contact and the contractor's supervisor. Ask in writing who restores the site: grading, sod, irrigation repair and replanting. For damage the driver caused, our guide on recovering HOA repair costs when a driver damages common property covers the crash report, the driver's insurer and small claims. If the damage is large, call the association's insurance agent too, and compare the repair cost with the master policy deductible before filing a claim.

Prevent the next one

Look at why the box was hit. A transformer at the outside of a curve, at the end of a parking row or next to a driveway apron will be hit again. Ask the utility whether it will install bollards, move the box, or approve bollards the association pays for. Many utilities have their own standards, and nobody should dig inside the easement without the utility's approval and a locate request. In Texas, Utilities Code section 251.151 requires notice to the one-call center at least 48 hours ahead, not counting weekends and holidays, for powered digging 16 inches deep or more. Florida section 556.105(1)(a) requires notice at least 2 full business days before any excavation. Keep landscaping clear as well. Utilities set their own clearances, and they are larger than most landscapers expect: Omaha Public Power District, for example, asks for 10 feet in front of the transformer door, 3 feet on two sides and 1 foot in back, because crews use long insulated hot sticks to disconnect the units. Ask your utility for its number and write it into the landscape contract. Hedges planted tight around a box to hide it slow down every repair.

A sample timeline and the usual mistakes

Minute 0: call 911 if there is a crash, fire or injury, then the utility's emergency line. Hour 1: the scene is kept clear, photos are taken from a distance and call numbers are logged. Day 1: the board emails owners with the outage estimate and posts notice at the site. Days 2 to 3: a director lists damage to association property and sends it to the utility. Week 2: the site is walked again after the crew leaves, open items go to the utility in writing, and the recovery claim against the driver starts. Month 2: the board decides on bollards or relocation with the utility. The usual mistakes: a director or the landscaper shuts an open transformer door; someone washes oil into a storm drain; the board calls the wrong company because nobody kept an equipment list; the association pays for site repairs the utility or the driver owed; and the hedge goes back in exactly where it was. A one-page equipment list and a standing note in the landscape contract prevent most of them.

Sources

These guides are general education for HOA boards and residents, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules vary by state and by your community's governing documents - check with a professional for your situation.

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