Considerations when Designing or Assessing Separation between Telecommunications and Power System Assets

Since 2012 the ENA Earthing Working group has been working towards improving the way power utilities and telecommunication businesses address the power coordination (POCO) issue. The dominant solution used to resolve the POCO conundrum is to cite the requirement of current telecommunication standards to maintain a 15m separation between power system earths and telecommunication assets. There are times when this approach has been shown to be ineffectual as a hazard risk reduction mechanism, and in comparison to other possible controls this choice equates to a wasteful use of available resources.A draft POCO Guide has been produced, including input from the telecommunications industry, which discusses how the approach to telecommunications coordination should be addressed by all parties through the adoption of quantified risk. The Guide addresses the need for hazard mitigation measures which have real impact on the hazards and risks posed to workers, the public and to the industries involved.