Utility Pole Light Fixtures

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KRG9729

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We are looking into a project to replace existing utility pole mounted light fixtures to LED. The fixtures are mounted approximately 35' from the ground and do not appear to have an equipment ground.

Would this be considered a code violation or is the height of the fixture make the absense of a ground acceptable.
 
KRG9729 said:
We are looking into a project to replace existing utility pole mounted light fixtures to LED. The fixtures are mounted approximately 35' from the ground and do not appear to have an equipment ground.

Would this be considered a code violation or is the height of the fixture make the absense of a ground acceptable.
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Wood or other insulating material pole - still a code violation, but user isn't really in much danger with it being isolated by height either.

Conductive pole - if neither light or pole are connected to an EGC then a fault in the light can energize the pole as well.
 
By "utility pole", do you mean the pole is owned by a utility company, like the power company?
 
KRG9729 said:
Yes. It is believed to be utility company owned but I will have to confirm.
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Utility companies aren't required to follow the NEC. They have their own rules, and they usually follow the NESC. From what I've seen, its common for them to run power to lights without a ground.

It can cause problems when a company wants to take over their site lighting.
 
steve66 said:
Utility companies aren't required to follow the NEC. They have their own rules, and they usually follow the NESC. From what I've seen, its common for them to run power to lights without a ground.

It can cause problems when a company wants to take over their site lighting.
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While not always a good practice, they will often bond the fixture/pole to the grounded conductor. This is not an issue if they have 3 wires and 240 volt loads as their grounded conductor then just becomes the bond to the system neutral and it has no load current.

The problem comes in when they have 120 volt loads. In that case they should pull an extra conductor so they have one for neutral load current and one ground wire with no load current. The farther from the main line and the greater the load the worse it gets. Pole type matters.

Depending on exposure, they should also have low current secondary protection but many don't.

A utility can usually take over customer lighting with little trouble as long as they don't foul things up (I would not want to guess the odds).

A customer taking over utility lighting would require a close look as the utility is probably not NEC compliant and they have other differences like different conduit fills (they can use smaller conduit). I would anticipate it being a costly venture if brought up to NEC.
 
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