So much energy was pulsing through the transmission lines of the electric tower that Blake Hubbard climbed Saturday that the teen may not have touched anything before he was shocked and fell.

Instead, Blake, 14, could have been shocked because he had climbed too close to the high-voltage equipment, a Duke Energy spokeswoman said Wednesday.

"Electricity wants to go to the ground," said Betsy Conway. "If something gets too close, the electricity can arc and go to the ground."

Blake died when he fell from the tower in a hilly, wooded area at the end of King Charles Road. A companion who called 911 said Blake had "touched something" and "got shocked," but officials have not yet determined how he died, a spokeswoman with the state medical examiner's office in Chapel Hill said Wednesday.

Electric towers such as the one Blake climbed convey electricity to substations where power levels are lowered before being carried to people's homes, Conway said.

Duke Energy officials often visit classrooms to teach young people about safety around electricity. They tell youngsters that the electrical shock from a 100-watt light bulb or a 1,000-watt hair dryer can be deadly.

Conway noted that adults working near utility poles are required to maintain a distance of at least 15 feet from the electrical equipment to avoid injury.

"We stress safety at all times," she said. "There should be no climbing, touching or tampering with that equipment."

The tower that Blake fell from is one of four that stretch nearly a mile along the edge of a marshy, federally owned waterfowl management area that is part of Jordan Lake and managed by the state Wildlife Resources Commission.

On Monday, Duke Energy official Lawrence B. Somers notified the N.C. Utilities Commission about the fatal accident. Conway said energy companies are required by state law to notify the Utilities Commission when there has been an incident of "public contact" with high-voltage equipment.

Last year, Duke Energy reported four cases statewide in which members of the public were killed after contacting electricity.

"Three of those involved unauthorized entry into substations and tampering with equipment," Conway said. "One was a vehicle collision with a substation."