What’s up with those green boxes?

Not all green metal boxes belong to us. Here’s how to tell.

This article was published in April 2023 and may be outdated.

Some neighbourhoods have green boxes — maybe you’ve seen them. And maybe you’ve heard they belong to Manitoba Hydro. A green box could be a padmount transformer, a distribution centre, a joint-use pedestal (a box with Manitoba Hydro and telecommunication infrastructure in it), or it could be a telecommunications box.

Telecommunications boxes have wires in them, but these wires don’t carry the same currents as electrical wires and they don’t belong to Manitoba Hydro. They’re telecommunications (internet, phone, cable) wires, and they don’t cause power outages. Sometimes people mistake telecommunications boxes for our boxes, and they call us to report damaged equipment. We always send a truck to investigate damage to our equipment — so it’s not ideal when a crew gets there to find out it’s not Hydro equipment.

How to spot a Hydro box

For starters, a telecommunications box usually has vents on it — Manitoba Hydro equipment doesn’t. Manitoba Hydro equipment should have:

  • A brass or red lock holding it shut.
  • Bolts to help keep it shut (safety is important and these are high voltage).
  • A Manitoba Hydro “DANGER” sticker — again, safety is important!
  • A serial/equipment number.

As we mentioned above, sometimes we may share a box with a telecommunications company — this is called a joint-use pedestal. You can tell which side is ours using the same stuff above: it’ll have a sticker, bolts, a lock, and probably no vents.

A squat green metal box on a concrete platform surrounded by grass and leaves. There’s a serial number on the top left of the box, a bright red DANGER sticker in the top middle, and a KEEP CLEAR sticker on the top right. The left of the box has two red locks.

An example of a Manitoba Hydro box. Notice the locks, bolt, DANGER sticker, and serial number.

Enlarge image: A squat green metal box on a concrete platform surrounded by grass and leaves. There’s a serial number on the top left of the box, a bright red DANGER sticker in the top middle, and a KEEP CLEAR sticker on the top right. The left of the box has two red locks.

What to do if you see damaged Manitoba Hydro equipment

If you see something that looks like it belongs to us — and please treat everything as though it’s live and stay a safe distance of at least 10 ft (3 m) away — give us a call at 1-888-624-9376. We’ll send someone to check it out.

Two side-by-side photos: on the left, an elongated rusty metal box, forest-green-coloured, with a small wire sticking out a vent in the bottom. On the right is a waist-high, forest-green-coloured metal box. This box has a lock on top, flanked on either side by two bolts. Below is a Manitoba Hydro sticker and a DANGER sticker below that.

These pictures show two sides of the same pedestal. On the left you can see the telecommunications side and on the right is the Manitoba Hydro side — notice the warning sign, bolts, and lock on the Manitoba Hydro side and the vents on the telecommunications side.

Enlarge image: Two side-by-side photos: on the left, an elongated rusty metal box, forest-green-coloured, with a small wire sticking out a vent in the bottom. On the right is a waist-high, forest-green-coloured metal box. This box has a lock on top, flanked on either side by two bolts. Below is a Manitoba Hydro sticker and a DANGER sticker below that.

Two side-by-side photos: on the right, the inside of a waist-high green metal box, and on the left, the inside of another similar box. The inside of the right box shows thick red, black, and white wires, bigger around than a dry-erase marker. The inside of the left box has similarly sized blue wires terminating in an orange box.

These photos show the inside of a Manitoba Hydro pedestal. The wires are thicker than the inside of a telecommunications pedestal.

Enlarge image: Two side-by-side photos: on the right, the inside of a waist-high green metal box, and on the left, the inside of another similar box. The inside of the right box shows thick red, black, and white wires, bigger around than a dry-erase marker. The inside of the left box has similarly sized blue wires terminating in an orange box.

A photo of a knee-height green metal box among long grass and beside a fence. The box is rusty and leaning to one side; the right panel has vents on the top and bottom and is separated from the rest of it. There are wires coming out of the box with diameters no bigger than a pencil.

Enlarge image: A photo of a knee-height green metal box among long grass and beside a fence. The box is rusty and leaning to one side; the right panel has vents on the top and bottom and is separated from the rest of it. There are wires coming out of the box with diameters no bigger than a pencil.

A photo of a waist-high green metal box with one panel open and off to the side. The wires within the box are thin, like a phone charger cable.

These are telecommunications boxes — notice the vents, smaller wires, no stickers, and no locks. These don’t belong to us.

Enlarge image: A photo of a waist-high green metal box with one panel open and off to the side. The wires within the box are thin, like a phone charger cable.

A photo of a waist-high green metal box with two shades of green. The top third, a forest green colour, has three vents visible. The bottom two thirds of the box, a faded and rusty grass colour, have no vents. Near the middle of the box is a metal lock, a “Manitoba Hydro” sticker, and a “KEEP CLEAR” sticker below it.

This is a combination telecommunication and Manitoba Hydro pedestal. Notice the vents on the top, but the lock, “KEEP CLEAR,” and “Manitoba Hydro” sticker underneath.

Enlarge image: A photo of a waist-high green metal box with two shades of green. The top third, a forest green colour, has three vents visible. The bottom two thirds of the box, a faded and rusty grass colour, have no vents. Near the middle of the box is a metal lock, a “Manitoba Hydro” sticker, and a “KEEP CLEAR” sticker below it.