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• Proposed Electricity Regs

Safety of Electricity

As noted, the overarching objective of the proposed electricity safety regulations is to provide for the protection of the health and safety of members of the public and to promote the prevention of damage to property in connection with the supply and use of electricity.

To underpin this objective, it is proposed that the regulations have a general safety requirement stating along the following lines that electrical fittings are required to be designed, constructed, maintained, installed, supplied, assembled, connected, tested, repaired and used in a manner that is electrically safe.

This proposed new regulation is very similar to existing Regulation 69, with words in italics additional to those currently in Regulation 69.

Electrical fittings is defined in the Electricity Act 1992 as everything used, or designed or intended for use, in or in connection with the generation, conversion, transformation, conveyance, or use of electricity.

The existing Regulations define "electrically safe" at Regulation 69(2). Whilst this definition is satisfactory, it does not align with other safety definitions in comparable legislation, for example, the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992. Accordingly, it is proposed to not continue with this definition and instead to define electrically safe along the following lines (please note this is indicative wording for the purposes of consultation).

Electrically safe requires, having regard to the current state of knowledge, that all practicable steps have been taken within reasonably expected environmental conditions to ensure that the risk of serious harm to any person or domestic animal, or of significant property damage in both normal and foreseeable conditions, is as low as reasonably practicable; -

With the following riders to this definition:

• Currently, electrical equipment that is designed and used for medical treatment, animal stunning, meat conditioning, or fishing is considered as not electrically unsafe merely because it may cause injury when used for its designed purpose. It is proposed that this will remain unchanged.
• It is also proposed to include that electrical equipment that poses a mechanical risk of injury or death to any person or domestic animal, or of any damage to property, is not considered electrically unsafe merely because it may cause injury when used for its designed purpose. For example, a burn from the hot plate of an iron will not be considered an electrical accident, even though appliance or installation is electrical. In these cases, electricity did not cause the injury.

With respect to the means of compliance set out in Regulation 69A, Regulation 69B and Regulation 69C these will continue to be noted in the proposed new regulations as appropriate to use to establish compliance with the general safety requirements (but not the only means).

Regulation 68 sets out various transitional allowances for meeting the general safety requirements. Industry has advised that these transitional allowances may still be important to retain. On the basis that it is not known what the implications would be of removing these transitional allowances, it is proposed that they be incorporated into the new regulations.

Infringement Offence

It is proposed that there will be a regulation providing for Chief Executive (of the Ministry of Economic Development) to issue a notice to an owner of electrical fittings where satisfied that there are grounds the electrical fittings do not meet the general safety requirement. The process will include Energy Safety issuing a notice to rectify the breach. If this notice is not complied with, then it will be an infringement offence.

Notification to Chief Executive

Present Regulation 50 requires a person who is doing prescribed electrical work, or testing prescribed electrical work to notify the owner or occupier and the Chief Executive if they discover an installation, fitting or appliance that presents an immediate danger to life.

It is proposed that a regulation similar to this be retained in the new regulations but also include that if the person can fix the problem and does so, then the person does not need to notify the Chief Executive. However, if they cannot fix the problem immediately, then the Chief Executive must be notified.

Issuing of Urgent Instructions

Present Regulation 105 allows the Chief Executive to issue orders or instructions for securing the protection of persons from injuries caused by electricity. The requirement can be directly to a particular person in writing, or if it is general, this can be by notice in the Gazette. The requirement can stay in place for up to 6 months and can be amended or revoked at any time.

It is proposed that this regulation be retained in the new regulations.

Warning Statements and Security Requirements

The Electricity Regulations presently provide at Regulation 34 and Regulation 66 that warning notices must be in place where there is a significant risk to the public from potential exposure to live wires or uninsulated conductors, or the unintentional connection of the supply of electricity. It is proposed that the new electricity safety regulations provide as part of the general electrical safety requirements for warning notices to be used as follows:

• to require durable and readable warning notices to be conspicuously placed where any person is carrying out work on works or installations at the point of disconnection to safeguard against unintentional connection;
• to require durable and readable notices to be conspicuously placed where high voltage electricity is used or is to be used providing instructions on the treatment of electric shock;
• to require durable and readable warning notices to be conspicuously placed to where it is necessary to warn the public, such as the presence of underground lines where these enter dwellings.

It is proposed to also provide for the requirement to lock the disconnection from the power supply if the works or installation has a locking facility.

It is also proposed to also have a new regulation requiring that security arrangements are in place to prevent access by unauthorised persons where there is a need to limit access to installations when electrical work is being undertaken. These regulations are needed in addition to aspects of security arrangements that will be covered by the Safety Management System (SMS) requirements, given not all electricity generating facilities or distribution systems require SMSs. It is proposed to continue the requirements of current Regulation 89 which reads:

All electricity generating facilities of works or electrical installations, and all substations, must be secured against access by unauthorised persons.

Earthing and Protection Measures

In simple terms, earthing protects people by ensuring adequate protection against fault currents and by ensuring that all exposed conductive surfaces are at the same electrical potential as the surface of the Earth, thus avoiding the risk of electrical shock if a person touches a fitting in which an insulation fault has occurred. Earthing ensures that in the case of a short circuit, an overcurrent protection device (such as an RCD or fuse) will trigger and disconnect the power supply. Therefore earthing and protection measures are a vital part of the electricity safety regulations.

The electricity industry has identified significant problems with earthing and protection measures that are not adequately addressed by the current regulations. For example, there is difficulty in achieving the required 10 ohm overall impedance for a multiple earthed neutral (MEN)¹ system in all circumstances, and even if the 10 ohm is achieved for the overall MEN earth resistance, it does not mean an electrically safe earthing arrangement.

In response to these problems, the industry has undertaken a comprehensive review of internationally recognised earthing system standards and has identified international practices and requirements for the control of step, touch and transferred voltages that may be more appropriate than the current MEN requirements for some electrical installations. An Electricity Engineers Association (EEA) Industry Code of Practice (ICoP) is being developed with input from the Ministry of Economic Development (Energy Safety). This ICoP is intended to replace the existing NZ Electrical Code of Practice 35 for Power System Earthing. This ICoP is currently out for consultation.

Based on the outcomes of this work, the ICoP may be adopted and therefore ECP 35 would be revoked and the following requirements may be removed from the Regulations:

• the 10 ohm requirement;
• the reference to the IEC shock current standard in some regulations, which it is proposed will be replaced with an outcome based safety statement, as the current requirement does not practically apply to many situations and is out of step internationally;
• the requirement for the earth fault protection to disconnect the supply in all cases to allow for the uses of resonant earthing;
• the requirement for the earth fault protection to operate within 5 seconds, which is unnecessary if resonant earthing is used.

The review does identify where reference to IEC shock currents standard should remain, such as the regulation for prescribed electrical work, where work done for telecommunications purposes is deemed not to be prescribed electrical work, and for residual current device (RCD) characteristics.

They also recommend that for all other regulations where it appears, the phrase "shock currents and their duration cannot exceed the IEC shock currents standard" be replaced with a phrase like "shock currents and their duration are such that there is no significant risk of serious injury or death to any person".

The regulator has contributed to the EEA review work and supports the proposals put forward. The EEA consultation document may be found at the Electricity Engineers Association website.

Residual Current Devices (RCDs)

An RCD constantly monitors the current flowing along a circuit. If it senses any loss of current, where electricity is diverting to the ground rather than through the circuit, it will immediately shut off. If a person's body is providing the path for the electricity to divert to the ground, they could be seriously injured, burned, severely shocked or electrocuted. An RCD will prevent the shock being fatal by shutting the system down instantly.

Currently, the use of RCDs is mandatory for domestic and residential installations. It is proposed that the use of RCDs be extended to include all socket outlets up to and including 20A as required by AS/NZS 3000:2007. This provides protection against electrical shock in commercial and industrial locations.