Produced by:

Juliet Clendon, Technical Advisor

Mail: juliet@eea.co.nz DDI: +64 4 282 1239

Summary of Changes to AS/NZS 7000:2010

General
The name of the standard has been shortened from ‘Overhead Line Design – Detailed procedures’ to
just ‘Overhead line design’.
The standard was previously one of three grouped documents. The other two documents were at
the proposal stage and included a design application guide and the ENA guidelines for construction,
maintenance and work practices. The design application guide has since been published and the ENA
guidelines have been dropped from the grouping.

Sections
1 – Scope and General
1.1 Scope and General
New paragraph included:
‘Where the additional loading does not exceed the foundation or major structural element
capacities, it is not necessary to comply with this Standard. Modifications may be made to comply
with the Standard applicable to the original design. Major structural elements include poles, lattice
tower legs and foundations.’

3 – Electrical Requirements
3.5 Electrical clearance distances to avoid flashover
 Standard now references NZECP 34 Code of Practice for Electrical Safe Distances
 Clarification that vertical clearances (rather than all clearances) shall be based on the
maximum operating temperature of conductors
 Section 3.5.4.4 ‘Operating temperature under serviceable wind’ has been added.
3.6 Determination of structure geometry

 The reference for maintenance approach distances in Australia has changed to AS 5804.1
(previously a mixture of ENA standards were referenced). NZ references remain the same.
3.7 Spacing of conductors

 The standard gives the minimum requirements to minimize the potential for circuit to circuit
flashover, rather than to prevent it as in the previous version for the spacing of conductors
of different circuits on different supports
 Reference to Appendix Q for mid span separation calculations has been removed.
 Note 7(h) added to the situations to take into account when considering spacing of
conductors: Fire prone areas (e.g. burning of sugar cane trash) where ionized air will have a
reduced dielectric strength.
3.8 Structure Clearances

 Reference to Table 3.5 “minimum A.C. Live line approach distances” has been removed and
replaced with references to AS 5804 and NZECP 46.

1
 Produced by:
Juliet Clendon, Technical Advisor
Mail: juliet@eea.co.nz DDI: +64 4 282 1239

3.9 Live Line Maintenance Clearances

 Table 3.5 “minimum A.C. Live line approach distances” has been removed and the section
now references AS 5804 and NZECP 46.
3.11 Clearances to Ground and Areas Remote from Building, Railways and Navigable Waterways
 Values edited in Table 3.8 ‘Clearances from Structures’. A note is also added to the table that
“Clearances in this Table do not apply where there are local rules and regulations. In New
Zealand, applicable clearances are given in NZECP 34.”
6 – Basis of Structural Design
6.2 Requirements

 For Table 6.1 ‘Ultimate Limit State Wind Return Periods For Design Working Life And Line
Security Levels’ there is a clarification that the ‘design return period’ represents the
probability of a wind speed being exceeded in any given year, not the probability of a wind
speed being exceeded over the design working life of the line.
6.3 Ultimate limit states
 Section title changed from ‘Strength limit states’ to ‘Ultimate limit states’
 The second paragraph has been reworded to be more concise
 Table 6.2 ‘Strength reduction factor φ for component strength’ has been updated and there
are significant changes to the notes.
7 – Action on Lines
7.2 Actions, General Approach
 Note edited regarding reducing minimum loadings for construction and maintenance
 Changes to design requirements for structural elements that can be climbed and are inclined
with an angle less than 30⁰ to the horizontal.
 Changes to the section 7.2.7.1 ‘Failure containment loads’ including:
- Alteration allowing for “ductile failure of individual structure components (e.g. steel cross-
arms or post insulator gain bases) on intermediate structures, provided that failure of the
primary structure component does not occur and cascade failures of adjacent structures are
avoided”
- Inclusion of alternative structures (e.g. stop structures)
- Failure containment load cases don’t need to be applied when assessing existing structures
- ‘two or more’ circuits are considered instead of a ‘double circuit’ for suspension or
intermediate supports
- Sections on tension supports and distribution systems have been rewritten.

8 – Supports

8.2 Materials and Design

 Section on Timber Poles no longer references AS 1720.1, AS/NZS 1328, NZS 3603 or AS 2209.

8.5 Loading Tests

 Typical test arrangements are no longer given in Appendix FF.

2
 Produced by:
Juliet Clendon, Technical Advisor
Mail: juliet@eea.co.nz DDI: +64 4 282 1239

9 – Foundations

9.1 Design Principles

 Wording added “Component strength factors up to 0.9 may be considered where there is a
high level of certainty of the material property of the soil and the design methodology.”

Appendices
APPENDIX A - REFERENCE AND RELATED DOCUMENTS
References to the following standards have been added:
 AS 5804 High-voltage live working (all parts)
 AS/NZS 331 Overhead Line Design.

APPENDIX B - WIND LOADS

 Additional information regarding downdraft winds including:

- The use of return periods in determining probabilities
- The presence of downdrafts in AS/NZS 1170 regions A, B, C and D
- Advice for selecting the level of line security
 Section B5.2 ‘Wind pressure on poles’ now has a reference to the overhead line design
handbook HB 331.
 In section B5.3 ‘Wind forces on conductors’ the definition of conductor length has changed
in the perpendicular wind force calculation.

APPENDIX C - SPECIAL FORCES

Most changes in this appendix pertain to earthquakes. Such changes include:

 Addition of information in regards to handling return periods

 Consideration of the additional weight of snow/ice on conductors in alpine areas is no longer
included
 An equation has been added for the horizontal component of the change in cable tension
due to earthquake displacement
 The equation for the seismic displacement at the centre of a mass has been altered.

APPENDIX F - TIMBER POLES

 The standard no longer aligns with AS 1720.1 for timber poles in Australia. In NZ the
standard still aligns with NZS 3603
 In many cases the wording has been strengthened from ‘should’ to ‘shall’
 Sections F4.4 ‘Pole degradation factors’ and F5.6 ‘Pole top deflection’ have been significantly
edited
 Section F4.8 ‘Stability factor for compression’ has been added.

3
 Produced by:
Juliet Clendon, Technical Advisor
Mail: juliet@eea.co.nz DDI: +64 4 282 1239

APPENDIX L - STRUCTURE FOOTING DESIGN AND GUIDELINES FOR THE GEOTECHNICAL

PARAMETERS OF SOILS AND ROCKS

 Changes to the suggested use of Brinch Hansen methods

 Section L3.2 ‘Bored piers’ has been rewritten and now references guide SA HB 331.
 Tables L1 and L18 have been updated
 Section L5.1 ‘Cast in situ anchor blocks’ has been significantly edited.

APPENDIX Q - MID SPAN SEPARATION CALCULATIONS

This appendix has been removed. The lettering on successive appendices have been reassigned.

APPENDIX Y - CONDUCTOR STRESS AND FATIGUE

 Notes added to table Y1 ‘Conductor Everyday Load Horizontal Tension’

 Minor changes to section Y4.1 ‘Limiting Static Stresses’.

APPENDIX AA - CONDUCTOR ANNEALING AND OPERATING TEMPERATURES

 Section AA5 ‘Maximum Operating Temperatures’ has been significantly edited.

APPENDIX BB - MECHANICAL DESIGN OF INSULATOR-LIMIT STATES

 A reference to the overhead line handbook SA HB 331 for worked examples has been added.

APPENDIX DD - SNOW AND ICE LOADS

 The standard now considers both combined and separate wind and ice loads
 The range of ice thickness considered has been increased for Australia, but not for New
Zealand
 There are changes to the tables used for differential ice loading checks
 Section DD3.11 ‘Snow loading on pole structures’ has been extensively edited.

APPENDIX EE - DETERMINATION OF STRUCTURE GEOMETRY

This appendix has been extensively edited.

APPENDOX FF - STRUCTURAL TEST FOR PROTOYPE POLES

New Appendix