1 Electrical Regulations
1 Electrical Regulations
BY PD 1096
2.1 All poles erected on public roads shall be covered by Approved Pole
Location (APL) plan from the Municipal Engineer.
2.2 Poles and transformer supports shall be located not more than
500mm inside from the road right-of-way or property line, and
shall not obstruct the sidewalk, pedestrian path and/or the road
drainage canal or structure, existing or proposed.
Pole
≤ 500 mm
Property line
2.3 Primary lines shall have a minimum vertical clearance of 10 m
from the crown of the pavement when crossing the highway
and 7.5 m from the top of the shoulder or sidewalk when installed
along the side of the highway or street in a highly urbanized area.
≥7.5 m
≥10 m
2.4 Secondary, neutral and service lines shall have a minimum vertical
clearance of 7.5 m from the crown of the road pavement when
crossing the highway and from the top of the shoulder or sidewalk
when installed along the side of the highway or street in highly
urbanized area.
2.5 Clearances of Supporting Structures such as Poles, Towers and
others and their guys and braces measured from the nearest
parts of the objects concerned:
A. From Fire Hydrants, not less than 5 m.
B. From the Street Corners, where hydrants are
located at street corners, poles and towers shall
not be set so far from the corners as to make
necessary the use of flying taps which are
inaccessible from the poles.
C. From Curbs, not less than 150 mm measured from
the curb away from the roadway.
≥5 m
≥150 mm
3. Attachments on and Clearances from Buildings
3.1 Attachments for support of power lines and cables, transformers and other
equipment and/or communications lines installed on buildings shall be
covered by an Approved Attachment Plan from the local Building Official.
2 - 2.5 m
≥ 15 m Pole
4. Open Supply Conductors Attached to Buildings
4.1 Conductors of more than 300 volts to ground shall not be carried along or
near the surface of the buildings unless they are guarded or made
inaccessible.
4.2 To promote safety to the general public and to employees not authorized
to approach conductors and other current-carrying parts of electric supply
lines, such parts shall be arranged so as to provide adequate clearance
from the ground or other space generally accessible, or shall be provided
with guards so as to isolate them effectively from accidental contact by
such persons.
V-
≥V
Clearance of line Communication LInes Supply LInes
conductors from -
In general On jointly used In general (0 to On jointly used Exceeding 8700
poles 8700 volts) poles (0 to 8700 volts, add for each
volts) 1000 volts of excess
Vertical and lateral 75 mm 75 mm 75 mm 75 mm 6.25 mm
conductors of the
same circuit
Vertical and lateral 75 mm 75 mm 150 mm 150 mm 10 mm
conductors of other
circuits
Span and guy wires 75 mm 150 mm 150 mm 150 mm 10 mm
attached to same
pole: general
Span and guy wires 75 mm 150 mm 300 mm 300 mm 10 mm
attached to same
pole: when parallel
to line
Lightning protection 75 mm 75 mm 75 mm 75 mm 5 mm
wires parallel to line:
surfaces of cross
arms
Lightning protection 75 mm 125 mm 75 mm 125 mm 5 mm
wires parallel to line:
surfaces of poles
6. Clearance of Service Drops
6.1 Service drop conductors shall not be readily accessible and when not in
excess of 600 volts, shall conform to the following:
Slope ≥ 1:3
Exception No. 2. Service drop conductors of 300 volts or less which do not pass
over other than a maximum of 1.2m of the overhang portion of the roof for the
purpose of terminating at a through-the-roof service raceway or approved
support may be maintained at a minimum of 500mm from any portion of the
roof over which they pass.
≥500mm
≥3m platform
≥ 500mm
window
≥1m
6.4 Service Drop of communication lines, when crossing a street, shall have a
clearance of not less than 5.5 m from the crown of the street or sidewalk
over which it passes. Service drop of communication line
≥ 5.50 m ≥5.50 m
≥3m ≥3m
protector
6.5 No parts of swimming and wading pools shall be placed under existing service
drop conductors or any other over-head wiring; nor shall such wiring be
installed above the following:
Service
drop
conductor
Swimming pool
7. Wiring Methods
7.2 Power or communication poles, lines, service drops and other line
equipment shall be free from any attachment for antennas, signs,
streamers and the like.
Trench all
around
8.2 Dry-Type Transformers Installed Indoors. Transformers rated 112-1/2 KVA
or less shall have separation of at least 300mm from combustible material
unless separated there from by a fire-resistant heat-insulating barrier or
unless of a rating not exceeding 600 volts and completely enclosed except for
ventilating openings.
Combustible Wall
Dry-type transformer
112-1/2 Kva or less
≥ 300mm
Transformers of more than 112-1/2 KVA rating shall be installed in a transformer
room of fire-resistant construction unless they are constructed with Class B (80ºC
rise) or Class H (150ºC rise) insulation, and are separated from combustible
material not less than 1.85m horizontally and 3.7m vertically or are separated
there from by a fire-resistant heat-insulating barrier.
≥ 1.85 m
Floor:
100mm thick
2-1/2 hours fire rating
9.2 Location. Transformer and transformer vaults shall be readily accessible to
qualified personnel for inspection and maintenance. Vaults shall be located
where they can be ventilated to the outside air without using flues or ducts
wherever such an arrangement is practicable.
9.3 Walls, Roof and Floor. The walls and roofs of vaults shall consist of reinforced
concrete not less than 150mm thick, masonry or brick not less than 200mm
thick, or 300mm load bearing hollow concrete blocks. The inside wall and roof
surface of vaults constructed of hollow concrete blocks shall have a coating of
cement or gypsum plaster not less than 20mm thick. The vault shall have a
concrete floor not less than 100mm thick. Building walls and floor which meet
these requirements may serve for the floor, roof and one or more walls of the
vaults. Other forms of fire-resistive construction are also acceptable provided
they have adequate structural strength for the conditions and a minimum fire
resistance of two and one half hours according to the approved Fire Test
Standard. The quality of the material used in the construction of the vault shall
be of the grade approved by the Building Official having jurisdiction.
9.4 Doorways. Any doorway leading from the vault into the building shall be
protected as follows:
3. LOCKS. Entrance doors shall be equipped with locks, and doors shall
be kept locked, access being allowed only to qualified persons. Locks
and latches shall be so arranged that the door may be readily and
quickly opened from the inside.
3. SIZE. In the case of vaults ventilated to an outdoor area without using ducts or
flues the combined net area of all ventilating openings after deducting the area
occupied by screens, grating, or louvers, shall be not less than 0.006 sqmm per
KVA of transformer capacity in service, except that the net area shall be not
less than 0.1 sqm for any capacity under 50 KVA.
8. WATER PIPES AND ACCESSORIES. Any pipe or duct system foreign to the
electrical installation should not enter or pass through a transformer vault.
Where the presence of such foreign system cannot be avoided, appurtenances
thereto which require maintenance at regular intervals shall not be located
inside the vault. Arrangements shall be made where necessary to avoid
possible trouble from compensation, leaks and breaks in such foreign system.
Piping or other facilities provided for fire protection or for water-cooled
transformers are not deemed to be foreign to the electrical installation.
11. Capacitors.
1. The provisions of this Section shall apply to the installation, operation and
maintenance of circuits, systems and equipment intended to supply
illumination and power in the event of failure of the normal supply or in the
event of accident to elements of a system supplying power and illumination
essential for safety to life and proper where such systems or circuits are
required by the Fire Code, or by any government agency having jurisdiction.
5. Emergency systems shall have adequate capacity and rating for the emergency
operation of all equipment connected to the system.
6. Current supply shall be such that in the event of failure of the normal supply to
or within the building or group of buildings concerned, emergency lighting or
emergency power, will be immediately available. The supply system for
emergency purposes may be composed one or more of the types of systems
covered in Section 12.7 to Section 12.10 of this Rule. Unit equipment in
accordance with Section 12.21 shall satisfy the applicable requirements of this
Section.
9. There shall be two services, each in accordance with Section 200 of the PEC,
widely separated electrically and physically to minimize the possibility of
simultaneous interruption of power supply arising from an occurrence within
the building or group of buildings served.
10. Connections on the line side of the main service shall be sufficiently separated
from said main service to prevent simultaneous interruption of supply through
an occurrence within the building or group of buildings served.
11. The requirements of Section 12.5 and Section 12.6 also apply to installations
where the entire electrical load on a service or sub-service is arranged to be
supplied from a second source. Current supply from a standby power plant
shall satisfy the requirements of availability in Section 12.6.
12. Audible and visual signal devices shall be provided, where practicable, for the
following purposes:
13. Only appliances and lamps specified as required for emergency use shall be
supplied by emergency lighting circuits.
14. Emergency illumination shall be provided for all required exit lights and all
other lights specified as necessary for sufficient illumination.
Emergency lighting systems should be so designed and installed that the
failure of any individual lighting element, such as the burning out of a light
bulb, shall not leave any area in total darkness.
15. Branch circuits intended to supply emergency lighting shall be so installed as to
provide service immediately when the normal supply for lighting is interrupted.
Such installations shall provide either one of the following:
16. For branch circuits which supply equipment classed as emergency, there shall
be an emergency supply source to which the load will be transferred
automatically and immediately upon the failure of the normal supply.
17. Emergency circuit wiring shall be kept entirely independent of all other wiring and
equipment and shall not enter the same raceway, box or cabinet with other wiring
except:
a. In transfer switches, or
b. In exit or emergency lighting fixtures supplied from two (2) sources.
18. The switches installed in emergency lighting circuits shall be so arranged that only
authorized persons have control of emergency lighting, except:
a. Where two or more single throw switches are connected in parallel to
control a single circuit, at least one of those switches shall be accessible
only to authorized persons.
b. Additional switches which act only to put emergency lights into operation
but not to disconnect them may be permitted.
Switches connected in series and three- and four-way switches shall not be
allowed.
19. All manual switches for controlling emergency circuits shall be located at the most
accessible place to authorized persons responsible for their actuation. In places of
assembly, such as theaters, a switch for controlling emergency lighting systems
shall be located in the lobby or at a place conveniently accessible there from.
In no case shall a control switch for emergency lighting in a theater for motion
picture projection be placed in the projection booth or on the stage. However,
where multiple switches are provided, one such switch may be installed in such
locations and so arranged that it can energize but not disconnect for the circuit.
20. Lights on the exterior of the building which are not required for illumination
when there is sufficient daylight may be controlled by an automatic light
actuated device approved for the purpose.
22. The branch circuits over current devices in emergency circuits shall be
accessible to authorized persons only.
23. Where permitted by the authority having jurisdiction, in lieu of other methods
specified elsewhere in this Section, individual unit equipment for emergency
illumination shall consist of:
a. Battery
b. Battery charging means, when a storage battery is used
c. One or more lamps, and
d. A relaying device arranged to energize the lamps automatically upon
failure of the normal supply to the building
The batteries shall be of suitable rating and capacity to supply and maintain, at not
less than 90 per cent of rated lamp voltage, the total lamp load associated with the
unit for a period of at least ½ hour. Storage batteries, whether of the acid or alkali
type, shall be designed and constructed to meet the requirements of emergency
service. Lead-acid type storage batteries shall have transparent jars.
Unit equipment shall be permanently fixed in place and shall have all wiring to each
unit installed in accordance with the requirements of any of the wiring methods
discussed in Chapter II of the PEC. They shall not be connected by flexible cord. The
supply circuit between the unit equipment and the service, the feeders or the branch
circuit wiring shall be installed as required by Section 12.17. Emergency illumination
fixtures which obtain power from a unit equipment which are not part of the unit
equipment shall be wired to the unit equipment as required by Rule 5257 of the PEC
and in accordance with the one of the wiring methods described in Chapter II of the
PEC.
13. Effectivity
1. All primary and secondary supply lines already existing shall comply with the
provisions of this Rule within two (2) years from the effectivity of this Rule.
2. Transformers to be installed on, attached to, or in buildings shall comply with the
requirements of this Rule. Transformer installations already existing shall comply with
the requirements within two (2) years from the effectivity of this Rule.
3. Non-compliance with the provisions of this Rule shall be subject to the penal
provisions in Section 213 of PD 1096.