Applying Quantified Risk to the Assessment of Earthing Hazards to Telecommunications Personnel

Transients/Telecommunications

The power and telecommunication industries in Australia have undergone significant evolution in recent decades, both operationally and architecturally. This has led to reduced collaboration between industry stakeholders involved in the development of standards used by both industries to coordinate on these issues, as well as standards not reflecting the current practice and technical and architectural developments in both industries.

The current update to AS/NZS 3835.1:2006 represents an opportunity for telecommunications and power industry stakeholders to collaborate on these issues and review the relevance of the existing approach taken in the standard. Several industry guides and standards in Australia have incorporated a quantified risk approach to assessing the risks associated with HV earthing systems using probabilistically determined hazard voltage limits. While quantified risk has been applied in the Australian power industry over recent decades, it has not yet been applied in power coordination between power utilities and telecommunications carriers.

The application of quantified risk is generally understood in the power industry but is not as well understood in the telecommunications industry. A key consideration for telecommunications carriers regarding the adoption of a quantified risk is how the outcomes achieved compare with those currently provided under the current AS/NZS 3835.1:2006.

This presentation will discuss the application of quantified risk to the assessment of EPR hazards to telecommunications personnel, and some of the challenges and opportunities associated with this, as well as several case studies.