Tentative criteria for the design and installation of electrical power systems subject to seismic hazard

This paper discusses the need to study the criteria for the design and installation of electrical power systems in buildings subject to seismic hazards. Nowadays, all the recommended seismic requirements (according to the Uniform Building Code [UBC], Structural Engineers Association of California [SEAOC] and National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program [NEHRP]) do not specifically take into account the electrical or technological power systems. This paper analyzes the problems an earthquake can cause with regard to the functional reliability and continuity of supply of electrical power systems. Therefore, it proposes design and installation requirements, to be graduated according to building occupancy categories. Basically, the criteria relative to the installation of the electrical equipment are an appropriate extension of those general static ones for nonstructural components. Their consideration is essential for the settlement of the design criteria, which, as far as the configuration and the size of the electrical power system are concerned, aim at limiting the same installation problems. Other general design criteria, designed as a guarantee for supply continuity and power system reliability, have a particular use in these appliances.