Poco violation or overzealousness?

F

Flying Wireman

Member
Location
Chicago
Occupation
Supervising electrician
400A underground meter, single family home

Poco rep came out and told me that I don't have 18" away from the railing (see pic) and that I need to move the meter fitting about 1' over to the left.
I attached the POCO file with outdoor horizontal clearances, because I don't think the rep is correct.

All the dimensions required by POCO refers to wall/ or adjacent corner wall, and (clearly ?) a rail is not a wall by any definition. What if instead of a rail, I would've installed a protective post/ barrier? Required clearances in front of the meter are 30" wide, 36" deep, and 80" in height per POCO.

I'm having a meeting with the POCO supervisor tomorrow, because moving the meter fitting is not exactly a viable or cheap option.

I'm looking forward to hearing your opinions or arguments.
 

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Hard to tell from the picture but is the bottom portion of that enclosure going to buried?

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The screws for the busway will be below grade. compromising the ability to open the enclosure. no different from putting a 4x4 buried in a wall and covered over with wallboard. Even if the POCO didn't call this out or the reference in question is inaccurate, the inspector should call this out. The enclosure is listed NEMA 3 but not for direct bury.
 
Fred B said:
The screws for the busway will be below grade. compromising the ability to open the enclosure. no different from putting a 4x4 buried in a wall and covered over with wallboard. Even if the POCO didn't call this out or the reference in question is inaccurate, the inspector should call this out. The enclosure is listed NEMA 3 but not for direct bury.
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That meter fitting is listed for direct burial. If you zoom in on the photo, there is a thin "lip" on the cover, which indicates how deep the pedestal needs to be buried. All the lugs/ connections/ breakers are accessible at all times by removing the top part of the cover.
 
ModbusMan said:
Protect the wires from accidental damage (shovels, rodents, etc.)?
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The conductors are in conduit and attached to the pedestal. If above grade, they would still be in conduit, only the conduit would stub up higher to reach the pedestal. Below grade, or above, would be no different since the conductors would be in conduit either way.
That would be a nightmare to replace the pedestal if it ever needed to be replaced. You would have to dig down more than 18" to to get to the bottom to disconnect it from the conduit.
 
Such a pedestal type cabinet should be capable of being free standing and the portion that is buried is the only securement involved. This one just happens to be adjacent to a building. Technically shouldn't even require any direct attachment to the building.

Generally only used around here if say the meter/disconnect is being installed away from the building, like out at edge of property but all the distribution is underground. If distribution were overhead non pedestal type would be mounted on a pole.
 
jim dungar said:
Not around here.
The basic pedestal is used for all underground residential services, even those attached to structures.
There is a separate foot kit used with stand alone installs.
Click to expand...
Funny how things differ from area to area
 
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