Protective Grounding Methods and Requirements on Distribution Line Wood Pole Construction

Establishing an "equipotential zone" for workers located on or near electrical circuits is often misunderstood. The misperceptions of "equipotential zones" have led many companies and governmental agencies to require the use of pole bands for grounding overhead distribution when a worker is located on a wooden pole. Staged fault tests were performed to compare simple worksite grounding with and without pole bands. This paper will present the test methods and the results of the testing.