High Voltage Infrastructure in the Water Sector

Annual Conference

In recent years the power industry has made significant advancements in the identification and mitigation of hazards in high voltage installations, particularly in the areas of earthing and arc flash hazards. As the Water Sector’s business focus is not on its high voltage and electrical assets, these assets are often installed and forgotten about. Recent studies and assessments at a number of water utilities throughout New Zealand and Australia have identified key risk areas that should be addressed, these include earthing of high voltage installations and risks associated with ageing assets.

In Australia there has recently been an increase in the number of projects and asset renewal programmes for HV installations in the water industry. The type of HV assets replaced and upgraded under these projects includes indoor switchgear, transformers, protection, earthing systems, overhead lines and power cables. Earthing assessments and upgrades have also been a key focus because earth fault currents can lead to dangerous touch voltages on any metallic surface in and around an HV installation.

This paper will discusses areas where key issues have been identified and recommendations on how asset owners can take a practical approach to identifying and mitigating key risk areas in their installations.

Conference Papers Health and Safety Resource - Conference Papers

14.00 - Kevin Friesen - High Voltage Infrastructure In The Water Sector .pdf

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19 Dec 2016