All HV or unindentified cables require to be spiked for safety reasons.
A standard 10 or 11 kV feeder cable has an average faultlevel of around 250 MVA which is about the same as a Boeing 747 taking off at the airport.
That guy was lucky to be alive. The guy who told him to cut the pipe or conduit should get the sack.

The product of rotation, excitation and flux produces electricty.