ODISHA COAL AND POWER LIMITED

MANOHARPUR COAL MINE PROJECT, SUNDARGARH

STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE

ELECTRICAL EARTHING
Document No: SOP/OCPL/ELE/004

Filed At: Electrical Maintenance Dept.

1. Purpose:

The purpose of the SOP – Electrical Earthing Procedure is to train and to protect OCPL
employees from electrical injuries that could occur while working on a circuit that is
considered to be electrically isolated from all dynamic sources.

2. Responsibility:

Team Leader (Electrical) is responsible for implementation of this SOP so as to ensure

safe and efficient operation of the system.

3. Scope:

This safety standard applies to work on isolated circuits of overhead and underground
transmission lines / bus ducts (33KV, 6.6KV, 415V). The procedure in this document will
ensure that protective grounds are installed to:

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i) Prove that the electrical circuit or equipment is in fact removed from a dynamic
source of electrical energy.

ii) Provide protection in the case of accidental re-energization that may be caused by
operator error, contact with neighboring circuits, lightning, back feed, insulator
failure, etc.

iii) Provide protection from electrostatic and electromagnetic induction that may be
caused by adjacent energized circuits, wind or energized equipment.
This safety standard meets utility industry best practices and requirements contained in
OSHA 1910.269(n) "Grounding for the protection of employees."

4. Definitions:

i) Protective Grounding (Earthing) – Effectively connecting an electrical circuit or

electrical equipment to ground/earth potential.
ii) Bonding – Connecting all grounds (bonds) to a single point to eliminate differences
of potential at a work site.
iii) Bonding Principle – Bonds are installed so that a worker is kept in an equipotential
zone. A worker must not be able to bridge between a grounded circuit and any
unbonded structure, vehicle, boom, wire or any other object not tied into the
bonded network.
iv) Grounding Principle – Protective grounds are installed to reduce any current flow
through a worker to an acceptable level by providing a low resistant parallel shunt
around the worker. If the circuit is or becomes energized, the grounds must be big
enough to withstand any fault current in the circuit.
v) Bracket Grounding (box grounding) – Grounding at each potential source, not
more than 3km on each side of the work site. Bracket Grounding shall only be
applied when no possible source of re-energization may occur.
vi) Equipotential Grounding – Grounding and bonding together all objects, including
the structure to a single point to eliminate differences of potential at a work site.
vii) Dynamic Electrical Source – A source from the electrical system itself, not from
induction or portable generators.

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viii) Ground Set – The cable, screw type ground clamps and pressed ferrules,
assembled together as equipment or Hot Stick used for applying personal
protective grounds.
ix) Grounding Set Tester – A device designed to test the resistance of a complete
ground set.
x) Isolated – A circuit or electrical equipment that is removed from a source of
dynamic electrical source.
xi) Potential Tester – A device used to test a circuit or equipment for the existence of
dynamic electrical energy.

5. Earthing Principles:

i) Working on an isolated electrical circuit, or equipment without personal protective

grounds, has the potential to kill or cause serious physical harm.
ii) Proper grounding ensures the correct isolated circuit is identified; the circuit is
protected from accidentally being re-energized; high inductive voltage and/or current
is reduced to safe levels.
iii) If a circuit is isolated in order to carry out the work safely, then the circuit must be
grounded.
iv) To be assured that a person will not be exposed to any hazardous current or voltage
after the protective grounds are installed, the installation of the protective grounds
must comply with the Grounding Principle and the Bonding Principle.
v) To adhere to the Grounding Principle to control the current around a worker on a
structure,

a. The available fault current for each circuit must be determined so that the correct
size ground sets can be specified.

b. The ground set specified must be able to withstand the fault current for a time
necessary to clear the fault.

c. The ground sets must be tested at least annually to ensure that they will continue
to provide a low resistant path around a worker.

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vi) To adhere to the Bonding Principle to control the voltage between all elements that
might be contacted,

a. Equipotential (single point) grounds or bonds must be installed at the point of

work so that a person will not be subject to any potential difference between any
objects that can be contacted. The structure must be bonded to the grounds.

b. Equipotential bonding on underground systems must be put in place by working

from a ground gradient control mat bonded to the equipment or cable.
vii) When there is a need for an exception to equipotential grounding, such as the
installation of bracket grounds, a written “protective grounding plan” must be
prepared and approved by Director (Operation). It must be noted that a person is not
considered fully protected during an accidental re-energization from a dynamic
source when equipotential grounds are not in place at the point of work.

Note: Annexure – I provides a checklist for Potential Sources of Re-energization.

6. Procedure:

i) Determining Suitable Grounding Location(s) – Grounds must be placed at the point

of work in an Equipotential Zone configuration. Grounding on the structure being
worked on or grounding within 100 M of the work location is considered grounding
at the point of work.
Note – when the grounds are not on the structure being worked on, a bond will
need to be installed from the structure to one conductor (neutral) to ensure an
Equipotential Zone is maintained. Bracket grounding is an exception because it
does not adequately protect workers from accidental re-energization. Bracket
grounding shall only be applied when there is no possible source of re-
energization. Bracket grounding requires the preparation of a grounding plan
approved by Director (Operation)
ii) Determining the Proper Grounding Assembly or Set – The grounding set must be
large enough to carry the full fault current available at the work location, to ground

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 and stay intact until the circuit protection opens. Ground sets must be of required
size of jacketed (welding cable) copper conductor, ground screw type clamps and
pressed ferrule connections, for the available fault current. The ground sets must
be assembled in compliance with ASTM 855. The concerned engineer must
determine the fault current availability for the circuits to be worked on. The circuits
that require ground sets larger than the minimum established size (# 2 copper)
must be determined. Ground set requirements must be specified for each circuits.
iii) Choosing the Most Effective Ground Electrode – On a multi-grounded neutral
system (e.g. wye system), the neutral is the best earth electrode. On any another
systems (e.g. delta system), a ground electrode (e.g. an anchor rod or a ground
probe) will be the best electrode found at the earth level. The shield wire must be
used on wood pole transmission lines. When grounding onto a steel structure, a
temporary ground electrode stud may need to be installed for the ground clamp
connection to prevent burn off during accidental re-energization.
iv) Connecting to the Ground Electrode – The connection to the ground electrode
must be made before any other connections and must be removed last.
v) Establishing a Bonded Work Zone at the Work Site – Grounds must be installed to
establish the bond between the ground electrode and the structure. To keep
everything in the work zone bonded, any wires or winch cables brought into the
work zone need to be bonded to the same ground electrode.
vi) Establishing a Bonded Area on the Ground – Workers on the ground that are
handling conductors are outside of the bonded zone and need to use rubber
gloves or in more hazardous situations, work from ground gradient mats.
vii) Testing the Circuit to be Grounded to Verify Isolation – An approved potential
tester / Hot Stick must be used to verify that the circuit is isolated. Buzzing or
teasing is not a reliable method to distinguish between induction and dynamically
alive circuits.
viii) Ensuring Low Resistant Connections – The conductor and the inside of the ground
set conductor clamps must be clean. The ground set must be visually checked,
maintained and tested at least annually.

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ix) Installing the Ground Clamps on the Phase Conductors – All personnel must be
either completely in or completely out of the bonded work zone before installing the
protective grounds. Hot Stick tools must be used and proper eye protection must
be worn when installing ground clamps. On distribution lines, using grounding
jumpers with a support stud arrangement allows the worker to keep a distance
from the cable while installing the ground. Workers should maintain a clearance
and not be in contact with grounding cables during the installation process.
x) Removing Grounds – Grounds should be removed in the reverse order to which
they were installed, i.e. when a ground rod in earth is used as an electrode, do not
remove any clamps until all the ground clamps have been removed aloft in order to
avoid accidentally removing the wrong clamp. In high induction areas, removing
the grounds can interrupt current and drop voltage. Therefore, live line tools must
be used and eye protective must be worn when removing grounds.

7. Earthing Procedure :

i) Take PTW on Line / Bus.

ii) Ensure corresponding incoming Breaker & Isolator are in open condition.
iii) Ensure the Line / Bus in Dead condition by using Voltage detector.
iv) Take the Discharge Rod of proper voltage rating.
v) Connect the Discharge Rod End clamp to Plant Earthing system & properly tighten
its bolts.
vi) Touch the Discharge Rod tip to the line & clamp it on the Line / Bus (Hold the
Discharge Rod wearing Electrical Hand gloves of proper voltage rating).
vii) After work is over & all the people coming down / coming out from the Line / Bus
duct, first disconnect the Discharge Rod from the Line / Bus duct.
viii)Then open the Earthing clamp from Station Earthing system.

8. Auditing:

The following procedure identifies how the audit program will be inspected/audited.

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a An Authorize Person shall conduct periodic inspections of the application of the
Protective Grounding procedure to ensure that the requirements are being
effectively implemented.

b Inspection records will be maintained that indicate the date of the inspection, the
employees included in the inspection, and the person performing the inspection. The
inspection records shall identify any deviations or inadequacies and the corrective
actions taken.

c The Senior Authorize Person who is knowledgeable in the Protective Grounding

program and who is external to the operation will conduct an annual audit to assess
the effectiveness of the Protective Grounding program.

9. Don’ts:

i) Never try to do the Earthing without ensuring Line /Bus duct is in Dead Condition.
ii) Do not touch the Earthing Rod to Lines/Bus duct without clamping it to Earthing
system.
iii) During opening never try to open the Earthing clamp first without disconnect it from
the line/Bus duct.

10. Training:

Team Leader (Electrical Maintenance) shall certify in writing that employee training has
been accomplished and is being kept up to date. The certification shall contain each
employee's name and dates of training. All employees who install, remove and inspect
grounds must be trained and knowledgeable on:

a. The purpose for personal protective grounding.

b. The grounding and bonding principles.

c. The importance of providing low resistant path around the worker

d. How equipotential grounding protects in the case of accidental re-energization.

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e. How the written procedures for installing grounds on Line and Bus are applicable to
each affected employee.

f. The effects of electric field (capacitive) induction and magnetic field (inductive)
induction.

g. How induction will cause current to flow in the conductor and grounds when more
than one set of grounds are installed on a circuit and how protective grounding/
bonding is needed to control voltage and current to a level that is safe for the worker.

h. The limitations of bracket grounding and the need for a protective grounding plan.

i. The proper components and assembly of ground sets.

j. The proper maintenance, care and inspection of ground sets or assemblies.

Retraining shall be provided when the work observation program reveals or whenever
the management has reason to believe, that there are deviations from or inadequacies
in an employee's knowledge on protective grounding procedures.

11. Testing:

Ground sets must be inspected and tested with a ground set tester on a scheduled
basis at least annually.

12. Enclosure: Annexure – I

13. References:

This OCPL Electrical Earthing Procedure was developed using the following
publications as the source of the requirements contained herein:

1. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Grounding for protection of

employees. - 1926.954

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 2. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Grounding for protection of
employees – 1910.269 (n).

3. ASTM Standard F855-04 Standard Specifications for Temporary Protective Grounds

to Be Used on De-energized Electric Power Lines and Equipment.

4. IEC1230 Portable Equipment for Earthing or Earthing and Short-Circuiting

Revision No & Prepared By Verified By Approved By

Date Tech. Cell DGM (E&M)
Rev-00 Kishore Kumar
Date:01/04/2022 Mohanty

SOP – Electrical Earthing Procedure 9

 ANNEXURE – I

Potential Sources of Re-energization

Source Yes/ No Controls

Integrity of Isolation Points (Switchgear, Mid Span Openers)
Porcelain?
Number of Insulators?
Damaged or Flashed?
Visible Open Contacts?
Operating Control?
Suspect Switch Type?
Other?
Integrity of Hardware Supporting Circuits in the Vicinity
Wood Pins?
Deteriorated Cross-
arms?
Damaged Hardware?
Suspect insulators?
Damaged Conductor?

Location of ground sets:

____________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

All potential re-energization hazards have been identified and appropriate controls have
been implemented.
Signature of Engineer in Charge _______________________________

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