Hey are we wrong.. put up service to home overhead near drive way the drip loop is exactly 12.5 feet from ground level Small town inspector says it has to raised for the estimated droop of the incoming sevice from poco???? Is that our problem to worry with?I never heard that one before.His thing is it will be less than 12 over the drive way and it most likely will???

230.26 Tells us the height of the point of attachment shall provide the minimum clearances as specified in 230.24.

230.24(B)(2) requires 12 feet of vertical clearance above a residential driveway.

I do not think you can expect the power company to pull the drop so tight that it has less than 6" of sag.

Also 6" of sag in the winter will be more that 6" of sag in the summer.

IMO the inspector is correct you must raise your point of attachment.

Then be sure to raise the weatherhead above the point of attachment.

Rick that applies to se cable only. 230.54 (C) If this is a piped service the poco can just attach higher.



[This message has been edited by Electricmanscott (edited 06-27-2004).]

To paraphrase Article 80...inspectors rule & electricians drool. In 20 years I've only had one seriously unqualified inspector. I did what he wanted, charged the customer (who refused to pay), liened the property, customer went bankrupt, I lost my lien & about $1,000. Enough people complained about the inspector that his contract wasn't renewed. Otherwise, sometimes I know more about the code & sometimes the inspector does. If they do, I'm glad to learn more & if I know more I don't throw it in their face.

A small consideration not mentioned in the code is that my payment usually depends on passing the inspection. It's always been easier to do what the inspector wants than argue. Even if you're right it could come back to bite you...say there's a rule about the distance between the meter & the panel and you are 1" over. An inspector could make you pull the meter socket & install a disconnect type. Sound expensive & time consuming? It's always a good idea to call the department with questions before the installation. Sometimes I call & ask what code they're on, & what they look for in grounding. Sometimes after a couple questions they'll let you know specifically what they look for.

On your question, you do have to allow for some slack in the overhead span. On one occasion the POCO put so much slack in the wires that it created a violation. I called & asked them to tighten it up a bit. It sounds like you made it a little too close. There are a variety of supports available to raise the point of attachment.

Dave

Scott
That may be a semantics issue in 230.54(C), as I believe the intent for a service head is supposed to be at or above the point of attachment at all times in new installations. But it is very sharp of you to pick up that it does mentions service cables.

Pierre

usually th epower company will supply a measured darwing of what they want.

If the power company supplied their drawing (as they do here) and it showed 12'-6", you can be sure that they will keep their wire above 12'.

It is interesting to note that the NESC requires 16 feet of clearance under the worst of conditions (winter with ice load or on the hottest summer day at the expected maximum load on the conductors). If this is a residential driveway and a triplexed service drop, the height may be reduced to 12.5 feet if the height of the building doesn't permit 16 feet of clearance.

Hey guys this is a service change. If it were a new service the poco would just set another pole I assume to keep the cable from droping over drive way.So you guys are saying that I may need to raise my SE drip loop to 20'that just seems so unnessesary.If the cable coming in is the problem why wouldn`t the poco be required to raise the cable not me raise the drip loop.By the way I`m not argueing with the inspector I`m disagreeing with him.You know when two people have different opinions on the same subject not always a bad thing if done respectfully by both people.I have respect for his job...but in this case a service done 25 yrs ago and the fact is this pole is to far away from the house and the point of attactment from poco should be raised not my weatherhead location or they should spot another pole and solve the problem.He did agree to give me temp service until I figure a fix.Meeting with engineer from poco

Reel-Break, notice what Charlie said, and he is a POCO man.

I agree with you that the drop should be their responsibility and the 12' "min" is an NESC requirement also.

Go to example 5 on this page from electrician.com
http://www.electrician.com/articles/lhpage5.html

Roger

Ah yes Pierre, "Intent"! I have to say the NEC specifically says "Service entrance cables". That is enough for me. Now Reel-break 230.24 gives you clearances for service drops. 230.26 Tells you the point of attachment must be high enough to comply with the clearances in 230.24. If this is a service upgrade the point of attachment is already there. If the clearances on the existing drop are to low I would say they must be raised in this situation. If your weatherhead on your se is below the new point of attachment you should have to raise it. (I have lived and learned that one). Kind of a gray area because the poco usually comes in after you have done your work but you should be ready for what they have to do. I just did two service upgrades and I installed service masts because the drops (Fine for the last 30 years) were to low.

No I`m about 13" above where the incoming lines attach to the home. Thats my argument even if I raise my se then if poco doesn`t remove and raise there point of attachment its no use.But honestly the lines sag quite a bit and really needs a pole set on either side of the drive and one of the linesmen agrees. But the engeneer will have to make the call.I wish I had a digital camera to post a pic. I`m way up on the eve in the highest part of the A.If I rased to the tip top the poco`s cable would still be low IMO.I think the inspector realizes this but in order for it to be fixed this is his only ave.to have me get it moved.I`ll be surprised if the poco leaves this the way it is the lineman stated the engeener will tell them where to set the other pole.. we`ll see hopefully today he`ll come out.

Generally, the AHJ will work with the serving electric utility to get the required clearances. On the other hand, most electric utilities will not force an expensive change on a customer unless it is something that the customer has caused. In most cases, the electric utility is required to meet the NESC and is required to do whatever is necessary to achieve compliance.

It looks to me like a pole will have to be set if you are going all the way to the peak and still do not have the required clearance. Who pays for the pole and what remediation is required will be the responsibility of the electric utility and must be done under their regulations that are filed with your state's regulatory commission.

As an FYI, I believe we have to set our point of attachment at 15ft. If we can't get it directly on the structure we have to put up a Mast. Sometimes POCO here will allow less if the Pole is close.

Many times situations arise where we can't just put it back the way it was. Sometimes you can catch a break with some things, but I wouldn't count on it. Generally we know if we're doing a service replacement or an upgrade that everything must be brought up to current specs.

Bill

OK they did agree to set a pole.I also noticed where the wire was in bad shape coming through a tree so they all win.POCO has no problem later own because of tree rubbing cable raw. Inspector got wires raised.I got a phone call from the neighbor for some work at his house..Thanks for all the replys I read and learned a few things. Hadn`t heard of nesc codes so something good came out of the deal.