Subject: 6 Simple Rules to Ensure Substation Safety

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Date: Monday, January 27, 2014 6:11 PM
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6 Simple Rules to Ensure Substation Safety
Importance of safety protection
Another extremely important substation engineering aspect is associated with safety protection. It is fair to
say that safety i s al ways a No. 1 pri ori ty in substation design, operation and maintenance.
Unlike the case where a higher reliability required a larger investment, we cant put a price tag on safety
since there is no such thing like working conditions being more or less safe. It should always be 100% safe
to work at or visit the substation.
There are numerous laws, rules, codes, etc. governing safety requirements; of the most important
being IEEE Standard C2-2012. 2012 Nati onal El ectri cal Safety Code (NESC)
The main mission of all these regulations is safeguarding of personnel from hazards arising from the
installation, maintenance or operation of substation equipment.
Safety standards contai n requi rements for:
Enclosure of electrical equipment
Rooms and spaces
Illumination
Floors, floor openings, passageways, stairs
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Exits
Installation of equipment:
Protective grounding
Guarding live parts
Working space above electrical equipment
Specific rules for installation of all typical substation equipment
All these measures are based on common sense and the goal to provide a safe envi ronment for
substati on personnel .
6 rules to provide substation safety
Rule no. 1 (clearance)
Enough clearance from energized parts should be provided to avoid accidental contact with them. If that
cant be met, live parts should be guarded or enclosed.
Rule no. 2 (minimum height)
A mi ni mum hei ght from the ground to any ungrounded part of an electrical installation should be 8-6, so
a person staying on the ground cant touch a substation element or its part which may become energized
accidentally. For example, the bottom of a post insulator supporting an energized bus does not normally have
any potential.
However, if bus fl ashover to the ground over i nsul ator occurs, touching the bottom of the insulator may
become unsafe. Thats why an 8 -6 di stance from the bottom of insulator to the ground should be provided.
Rule no. 3 (illumination)
There should be sufficient illumination for personnel to clearly see their surroundings and perform any work
safely. Required illumination levels are specified in NESC [1].
Rule no. 4 (passageways)
All passageways and stai rs should be wide enough for personnel to navigate them safely, adequate railing
should be provided, and floor openings should have guard rails.
Rule no. 5 (evacuation routes)
Exits should be cl earl y marked and evacuation routes should be free from obstructi ons. Depending on the
function of the building (for example, control house), it may require several exits to avoid personnel being
trapped during equipment fault, fire, etc.
Rule no. 6 (grounding, as always)
All substation metallic structures, fences, and equipment tanks should be connected to a stati on ground
gri d which should be designed to ensure that step and touch potential values are lower than the ones
stipulated in the applicable standards.
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Reference: Fundamentals of Modern Electrical Substations; Part 3: Electrical Substation Engineering
Aspects by Boris Shvartsberg, Ph.D., P.E., P.M.P.
Jump to original technical article at EEP - 6 Simple Rules to Ensure Substation Safety
Category & Tags: Power Substation, Safety, clearance, evacuation routes, grounding, passageways,
station ground grid, subsation, substation safety
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