Medium-Voltage Arc Flash Analysis and Assessment of a 30MVA Property Development in Tarlac City

An arc flash occurs when an electric current passes through air between conductors or a conductor to the ground instead of the intended path during an equipment failure or conducted works on energized electrical equipment. Arc flash analysis is a project requirement to determine the energy level a worker may be exposed to protect against arc flash incidents as part of the latest Philippine Electrical Code (PEC) requirements. The results of this analysis based on the IEEE 1584–2018 standards include the incident energy an employee may be exposed to during live electrical works. The resulting incident energy values shall be evaluated based on the NFPA 70E standards that categorize the level of personal protective equipment required to be used for each piece of equipment. This standard addresses the safety of workers involved in interaction with energized electrical equipment and systems with potential exposure to electrical hazards. Vacuum Circuit Breaker equipment electrode configuration has the lowest incident energy results. Since the incident energy is directly proportional to the arc flash boundary, lower incident energy corresponds to a lower arc flash boundary.