Lighting pole electrocution 2

[Power0020]

It is common to see accidents with electrocution in developing countries when floods take place and lighting poles get touched by unsuspecting public.

Would the application of RCDs work well in this situation? sometimes underground feeder cables in handling pits are not properly insulated causing earth leakage once submersed. I guess it can be applied as a main branch protection with elevated threshold (say 300 mA) for 10 poles or more.

The common explanation is lack of operation earthing or maybe failure of earth fault protection. Where earthing of separate poles may not be enough to achieve a sufficient earth fault loop resistance, the use of TN-C is fairly common in these countries where RCDs may impose additional risk.

Any clue?

 

[cuky2000]

This device it probably help but probably will create other operational & maintenance issues that could be difficult to manage since is almost equivalent to shut down the service.

_{RCD (residual current device) also known in the ANSI marketplace as GFI (ground fault interrupter) /GFCI (ground fault current interrupting)}

To solve step and touch potentials in distribution system, probably is more practical to provide a conventional burry ground loop to minimize or eliminate hazard conditions. A GPR study and test is recommended recognizing that GPR decays outward in an exponential manner and establish a Zone of Influence (ZOI) around the ground grid dissipating the electrical energy in a safe manner.
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[Power0020]

The operational problem with local earthing is copper theft, which is common everywhere in the world rendering local grounding ineffective.

 

[dpc]

Even in the US, it has been common to run only two wires - hot and neutral for street lighting circuits. A ground rod is often driven at each light pole. If the pole becomes energized, the earth return path will have far too much impedance to trip the breaker (or fuse) supplying it if the pole is not well-bonded to the neutral or if the neutral is compromised. I have experienced this first hand. Like all low voltage utilization circuits, these circuits should include an equipment grounding conductors (green wire) back to the source to provide a low impedance path for clearing faults. For existing two-wire circuits, a GFCI breaker would provide a safer system.

 

[cuky2000]

Power0020: to address the copper theft many utilities are using alternative materials such as galvanized steel, steel-clad, strip and other options that will work with local conditions. See if the two links could be an alternative for your application 1) Link ; 2) Link