I don't doubt that any half-decent electrician will have no trouble with the new colors.
The only place where just seeing the colors might not be immediately obvious is the case of a single-phase sub-feed coming from phase C. IEE Regs. for years have specified that single-phase branch circuits must always use red as the line, no matter what phase they are fed from, but allow a single-phase sub-feeder to use the appropriate phase color up to the final distribution panel.
Thus a single-phase sub-feeder on phase C could have been installed with a blue line and black neutral. Opening a conduit box on the new system would reveal the exact opposite, of course. Granted that as soon as you see which conductor is landed on the neutral it should be pretty obvious.
My point though is that this is yet another example of a change for the sake of "harmonization" when there was really no need to change at all. So we use a different color code to Continental Europe -- So what? I don't see that as a problem.
Agreed on the earth issue. It is somewhat strange that for years we've had reduced protective conductors in cables yet earth pins on plugs that are huge!
[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 06-29-2004).]
