At the same time, I'm in awe and in horror of seeing those high current, high voltage disconnects being opened only to end up with a few meter high arc of curre

At the same time, I'm in awe and in horror of seeing those high current, high voltage disconnects being opened only to end up with a few meter high arc of current jumping through the air between contacts. I was taught the procedure of disconnecting a 10/20kV disconnect for an on-site transformer (alas, only an old one that had been decommissioned) and that thing scared the crap out of me when I first heard the spring loaded high voltage disconnect actuate. Having a 3 meter fibreglass pole to actuate the thing, just incase, tells you there is a real risk of the thing blow up in your face, on a good day.