Pillai Sreejith

Electrical Risk Assessment for Electrical

Utility Companies

EUC ERA Technical Note

Pillai Sreejith

Electrical Risk Assessment (ERA) Study

Electric Utility Company

I. Introduction

A comprehensive Electrical Risk Assessment (ERA) study was carried out for a EUC
(Electric Utility Company) in western India for their operations from the electrical safety
point of view. This EUC supplies electric power to a city in Western India, for a mix of
consumers (residential, commercial and industrial). The safety issues involved in
distributing electric power to a typical Indian city made this Electrical Risk Management
project an interesting & challenging one for our team. Benchmarking this EUC against
the global best practices / national & international standards was one of the elements in
the scope of work.

II. Electrical Risk Assessment (ERA) Elements

The specific elements that were mutually agreed in this project are given below:

Electrical Risk Assessment Scope of Safety Audit

(ERA) Element

Electrical Hazards Physical inspection to identify electrical hazards (shock, fire, flashover
and explosion) in various EUC operational areas and to suggest
electrical safety solutions.

Electrical Preventive Review of electrical preventive maintenance system (including

Maintenance System
procedures and frequency of tests, documentation, history cards, etc.)
for all the electrical equipment & installations mentioned above. The
assessment will be based on all applicable national standards and best
industry practices. Evaluation of adequacy and competence of testing
equipment and instruments and make recommendations

Electrical Accidents Review of electrical accidents and near misses in the EUC operational
areas to identify the root causes. The audit will also suggest practical
recommendations to minimize electrical accidents.

Electrical Systems and Review of electrical systems & procedures (work permits, interlocks,
Procedures lockout tags, etc.) to identify operational hazards & non-compliance to
defined procedures / standard practices.

EUC Safety Management Review of the importance given to electrical safety in the company
System safety policy, safety committee (if applicable), continuous electrical
hazard identification, etc. and make suitable recommendations to
institutionalize the process

EUC ERA Technical Note

Pillai Sreejith

Earthing System Review of the earthing system (installation & maintenance aspects),
including sample earth resistance tests at a few EUC installations.

Contractor Safety System
The contractor safety requirements relevant for EUC operations will be
assessed against the existing practices. A few elements that will be
assessed would be PPE, work practices, minimum qualification &
experience for workmen, training, etc. Review of existing contractor
safety manual will also form a part of the audit.

Emergency Communication Assess the existing emergency communication system for EUC
System operations and to suggest suitable recommendations to manage
emergencies. Also to make recommendations for emergency or
disaster management plan
Cabling The HT and LT overhead power lines and underground cable
installation practices will be assessed from the safety point of view.

Training To assess the existing training system (training identification, training

Personal Protective Equipment
(PPE)
modules and post- training assessment) and to recommend measures
to have an effective training system to enhance Electrical safety.
To identify and review the PPE requirement for EUC operations,
including height jobs. Usage of appropriate PPE in the EUC
installations and the maintenance practices followed will also be
reviewed.

Focus Areas:

• LT equipment and distribution network

• Personal Safety (EUC employees, Contractor personnel/ public)
• PPE/ tools issues
• Standard Operating Practices followed
• Work permit System followed

III. ERA Methodology

Pillai Sreejith adopted the following methodology to carry out the ERA study. The audit
team held detailed discussions as part of the pre-audit exercise with the co-coordinator
of the EUC to agree on the ERA study scope, methodology, etc. This interaction ensured
that all elements are addressed & precise scope is defined as part of the ERA exercise.
The attached flow chart shows the ERA process.

Pre-Audit
• Finalizing the ERA scope, in consultation with EUC
• Submission of technical proposal (scope of work, auditors’ profile,
technical expertise, audit methodology, data request)
• Finalization of audit dates (based on mutual convenience)

EUC ERA Technical Note

Pillai Sreejith

ERA Audit

• Opening meeting
o To communicate the audit scope & methodology of audit to EUC
officials
o To identify audit co-coordinator from the EUC side

• Audit
o Visit to power receiving stations, distribution switchyards and
various consumer installations
o Discussions with various EUC departments (Mains, Controls,
Commercial, HT Cell, Transformer & Switchgear Department,
Vigilance, Receiving Stations, Stores, contractors, corporate
planning, training, etc.)
o Sample measurements (earth tests, temperatures, etc.)
o Review of records / documents

• Close-Out Meeting
o A presentation to brief EUC management about the salient
observations on completion of the audit

ERA Post-Audit

o Submission of interim report, containing high priority

recommendations within 2 weeks of audit completion
o Submission of draft report
o Final report submission, incorporating EUC comments
o Providing clarifications to EUC in the recommendation in
implementation stages

IV. ERA Team

The audit team consisted of two senior electrical engineers (31 & 16 years
experience) and an experienced engineer, an expert in loss prevention /
safety management (17years experience). The audit was carried for nearly
10 days.

V. ERA Coverage:

• 66/11 /0.415 KV outdoor switchyard, involving transformers, various metering /

protection/switching equipment, etc.
• 66/11 / 0.415 KV Sub-Stations
• HT / LT - Overhead power lines and underground cabling
• Various power distribution equipment like bus bar chambers, Low tension panels etc
located in the city (around 16000 in number)

EUC ERA Technical Note

Pillai Sreejith

• Meter installations at consumer premises (residential, commercial & industrial)

• Earthing Installations & Sample earth resistance measurements
• Hotspot temperature measurements

VI. How ERA Helped EUC?

• A comprehensive evaluation of existing systems and procedures related to EUC

operations & maintenance was carried out as part of ERA.
• A critical assessment of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) was carried out as
part of the ERA. High Risk Operations (HRO) were identified and then
appropriate PPE were recommended.
• The guidelines provided in the report helped the EUC to revamp the existing
electrical safety management system.
• The Electrical Safety Performance Indicators (ESPI) recommended in the ERA
for each department helped EUC to develop customized ESPI. Tracking safety
performance became easy for the EUC this way.
• The accidents happening at the EUC were not grouped and analyzed. ERA
provided various guidelines on accident investigation and analysis so as to
identify focus areas.
• EUC had documented Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) but the document
also had many other details and engineering specifications. ERA recommended
removal of all information other than SOPs so as to make the document more
focussed.

VII. Post ERA- EUC Perception:

Sl. No. Rating Element Rating (maximum score-10)

1 Technical excellence 9
2 Promptness in Response 9
3 Adhering to Delivery Schedules 7
4 Sharing of information 9

Contact:

Please contact Pillai Sreejith for clarifications / details through e mails:

pillai_sreejith@hotmail.com.

EUC ERA Technical Note

Pillai Sreejith

EUC Electrical Risk Assessment Flow Chart

Defining
boundaries of
ERA

Data collection
and Review

Meetings at site
with EUC
Interaction with
EUC employees

Site visit

Developing
Recommendations

Identification of
areas for further
improvement

EUC ERA Technical Note