Industry silence over deadly network fault putting lives at risk ......neutral current diversion

[Sparksfly]

An interesting informative read about NCD from the IET...enjoy

https://eandt.theiet.org/content/ar...ium=Newsletters - E&T News&utm_source=Adestra

 

[SPECIAL LOCATION]

Very interesting....

and worrying e.g.

Mackenzie, the former SPEN employee, first became aware of a potential public safety issue in 2014 when he was alerted to an incident in a property in Galashiels, Scotland. A resident’s coat had fallen onto the property’s gas meter and had caught fire. Readings taken at the scene detected 35 amps of current flowing through the metallic gas service pipe entering the property. Mackenzie said it was fortunate the resident was at home at the time.

“There were 72 houses fed through a cable that runs between two substations without a neutral meaning there was the entire neutral current of 72 houses going through that one gas pipe,” recalls the former senior engineer.

Worryingly, there was nothing to indicate the problem he says, with “not one single flickering light bulb in the 72 houses. If that had happened during the night, that cupboard would have caught fire, the gas would have exploded and that would have been blamed on a gas leak,” he says.

and..

The cause of the majority of gas explosions are recorded as gas leaks, but Mackenzie says this is just because the ignition point is so badly destroyed by the fire, that “you can’t prove it was not a gas leak”.

I only just noticed the addition of Appendix 'C' & 'D' to GN3 after reading this part...

Last year, the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) published a standardised way of testing for NCD in its Guidance Note 3 publication, but the “DNOs need to acknowledge the problem,” says Mackenzie.

 

[binky]

A friend of mine who worked for Western Power told me about an incident in Truro town centre. In short, a neutral fault meant leccy picked up a cast iron gas main as the easiest route back to the substation. First indication of the problem was gas appliances going mad. By the time they turned off the power and dug a hole to find the fault, the gas main was glowing red hot

 

[Sidewinder]

We have done materials for this too.
I remember doing a podcast with Gordon & Paul & I think Dave.
I was also one of the party that proofread the Tangle Tamers report.
This article is just the tip of the iceberg.
Look up #e5 on YouTube and podcast sites you will find more information.
I know that some people who are here don’t like what we do, but at least we try to help people in our industry.
We also do a LOT of research before we create content to that end, our materials are technically correct, even if our interpretation and beliefs in our information are not the same as that of others.
We have never been approached by any industry bodies that would contradict our information, and many are willing to work with us.

 

[apprentice87]

Yes, but this is not new... This sort of thing has been known about since the DNO's first started with their idiotic TNCS systems. As for the HSE, they are not as "neutral" or independant as you might like to think, or so it seems to me.

If TNCS systems are safe, then why is it that they are absolutely not allowed to be used in petrol stations, or the likes of caravan parks where people THEMSELVES are likely to find themselves acting as a makeshift neutral..

TNCS is and always will be a bodge used to avoid them having to maintain the system.

In the same way; have you ever noticed, that when you were a kid, no way on this planet could you turn on a cold tap and stop the flow with your finger, whereas now, it is easy..

Ever stop to think why this is??? Well, let me tell you. After thatcher sold off all the water companies, to avoid her city friends having to pay to repair the leaks, they changed the law to allow them to turn the pressure down...

john..

 

[dmross]

An interesting informative read about NCD from the IET...enjoy

https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2023/02/exposed-industry-silence-over-deadly-network-fault-putting-lives-at-risk/?utm_campaign=New EandT News - Automation FINAL - NON MEMBER&utm_content=E&T News - Non-Members&utm_term=740635&utm_medium=Newsletters - E&T News&utm_source=Adestra

Sorry the URL has changed. It's now here:
https://eandt.theiet.org/content/ar...owledge-dangerous-network-fault-warn-experts/