PLAYBOOK
Region

Earth leakage and electrical safety

2 min read

A live pole is the most dangerous fault on the network.

Learning Track · Module 6: Faults · Step 43 of 101

Showing content for Europe. Change the region at the top of the page.

Water, damaged insulation, or a loose wire can make a metal pole or door live. South Asia: This is most common in the monsoon. Middle East: Rare heavy rain and flooding cause many faults at once. Europe, USA: This is most likely after heavy rain or flooding.

  • Europe: RCD: trips when current leaks to earth. IEC 60364-7-714 and national rules say where 30 mA RCDs are required, for example for street furniture that people touch.
  • Middle East: RCD / ELCB: most wiring regulations in the region (based on BS 7671) require earth leakage protection on outdoor lighting circuits.
  • South Asia: RCCB / ELCB: fit on each outgoing circuit. 30 mA where people can touch equipment; 100 mA or 300 mA on long circuits to avoid false trips. IS 732 and the CEA safety regulations apply.
  • USA: GFCI / GFPE: the NEC requires ground-fault protection in some outdoor locations. Most street light circuits rely on proper grounding and overcurrent protection. Check your local code.
    • Grounding: without a good fault path, protection can trip late or not at all.
    • Sealed connections at the pole base keep water out.

    Warning

    Treat any report of a shock from a pole as Critical. Make the area safe and isolate first. See SOP: Make a damaged pole safe.

    Related across the playbook: Earth leakage device trips again and again: With no clear fault.

    Sources

    1. IEC 60364-7-714 External lighting installations
    2. IEC 61008 and IEC 61009 Residual current devices
    3. IS 732 Code of practice for electrical wiring installations
    4. NFPA 70 National Electrical Code

    Changes: 30 October 2026: First publication: guides for Europe, the Middle East, South Asia, and the USA; failure library; tender clause library; comparisons; tools; downloads. See the changelog. Found a mistake? Report it.

    Open in the Learning Track

    Graph View

    Backlinks