Source: Radio New Zealand
WorkSafe has advised MBIE on hundreds of updates to electrical safety rules. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
WorkSafe has issued guidance to electrical workers over a rule change that several industry groups have warned is dangerous.
The change lifts a ban on inserting a switch, circuit or fuse into mains power earthing systems in houses and businesses.
The industry groups called for urgent guidance and WorkSafe provided some on Friday, saying the electricity safety regulations in place since 2010 “do not deem the switching of a protective earth conductor or PEN conductor as electrically unsafe”.
That had been permitted in limited circumstances since at least 1961, WorkSafe said.
It also advised workers not to do this, unless they were following a document related to the Electricity Act that explicitly detailed when particular switching was appropriate.
The change to two clauses in the regs was among hundreds of updates to electrical safety rules made by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment on WorkSafe’s advice, enabling safer introduction of new technologies and charging electric vehicles, the Crown agency said.
The Electrical Inspectors Association and Master Electricians have rejected that, while Engineering NZ this week wrote to WorkSafe calling on it to reverse the rule change.
The association said, while it was technically correct that switching was not deemed unsafe in the regs, the advice was “simply wrong”, but WorkSafe defended it in the new advice.
“Deleting these clauses enables New Zealand to address the emerging risks associated with the New Zealand multiple earthed neutral system (MEN) to, for example, improve the resilience of an electrical installation in the face of a natural disaster, and address risks associated with supply faults occurring during the charging and discharging of electric vehicles.”
It was now working on other replacement guidelines for Electric Vehicle (EV) safety charging, which required specific rules, and further technical guidance on protective earth neutral conductor (PEN) switching would be out next year.
It noted that:
- Anyone carrying out work on an installation must ensure that the resulting electrical installation is electrically safe
- Anyone carrying out design work for an electrical installation must ensure that the resulting installation will be safe, if the design is followed
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
