Representatives from across industry bodies, including
Engineering New Zealand Te Ao Rangahau, are urgently calling
on the Government to reverse changes it made to the
Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010 and the NZ Wiring
Rules, before somebody is injured or killed.
Last
year, in an efforttoreduce barriers to the
installation of renewable energy technologies including
solar panels and EV chargers, the Government made a number
of regulatory modifications, including removal of clauses
from the standard which prohibited the switching
ofprotective earth and neutral (PEN) conductors.
Dr
Richard Templer, Chief Executive of Engineering New Zealand,
says this puts New Zealand in stark contrast to
international standards and minimum practice, with PEN
conductor switching banned in Australia, the
UnitedKingdomand the United States.
“Our
Electrical Engineering Group, together with electrical
experts across wider industry, considers it to be both
unnecessary and inherently unsafe because of the risk of
serious injury or death,” he said.
“We are calling
for the urgent reinstatement of the prohibitions in the
standard before somebody suffers significant
harm.”
PEN conductors keep an installation’s
earthing system at roughly the same voltage as the ground
around it, and the rest of New Zealand, making it safe. If
the PEN conductor is interrupted that same earthing system
can become energised and cause serious injury or
death.
WorkSafe’s own independent review, commissioned
in response to industry concerns, concludedthat”PEN
conductors should not be switched under any
circumstances”.
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“Despite
theseclearconcerns, WorkSafe hasadvised
theGovernmenttoretainthe revised standardand
believesdevelopinganon-binding and non-regulatory
fact sheetis sufficient mitigation. We consider
thisresponseto bewholly inadequate,” said Dr
Templer.
Engineering New Zealand has engaged
extensively with WorkSafe and MBIEregardingthis issue
and are yet to be provided a single scenario in which PEN
conductor switching is necessary tosupportEV
charging,home solar generation systems, or
othermoderninverter-based technologies.
Glenn
Harvey, Chairman of the Solar Association also opposes last
year’s changes.
“I think it’s a failure to
proceed with PEN switching, based on the fact it creates
serious safety hazards and does not in fact speed up the
installation of solar,” said Mr Harvey. “Having a
dedicated earth conductor is safe and best
practice.”
Engineering New Zealand wrote to the
Minister for Energy, Hon Simeon Brown, in July this year and
are awaiting a response. The amendments are due to become
mandatory across the sector in November 2026.
“It
feels like we’re sleepwalking towards the edge of a cliff,
and I really hope the Government wakes up to the risk in
time,” said Dr Templer.
“We are fully supportive
of the Government’s intent and efforts to streamline
regulations to boost our productivity, efficiency and
effectiveness, but that should never come at a serious risk
to life. We continue to remind electrical workers that it is
never safe to install a switch, circuitbreakeror fuse
in a PEN conductor.”
About:
Engineering New
Zealand Te Ao Rangahau is New Zealand’s professional body
for engineers, with some 23,000 members. We represent –
and regulate – our members. We also act as the
Registration Authority for Chartered Professional
Engineers.
