45.1-161.186 - Power circuits.
§ 45.1-161.186. Power circuits.
A. All underground power wires and cables shall have adequatecurrent-carrying capacity, shall be guarded from mechanical injury, and shallbe installed in a permanent manner.
B. Wires and cables not encased in armor shall be supported by well installedinsulators and shall not touch combustible materials, roof, or ribs; however,this shall not apply to ground wires, grounded power conductors, and trailingcables.
C. Power wires and cables installed in belt-haulage slopes shall be insulatedadequately and buried in a trench not less than 12 inches below combustiblematerial, unless encased in armor or otherwise fully protected againstmechanical injury.
D. Splices and repairs in power cables shall be made in accordance with thefollowing:
1. Mechanically strong with adequate electrical conductivity;
2. Effectively insulated and sealed so as to exclude moisture;
3. If the cable has metallic armor, mechanical protection and electricalconductivity equivalent to that of the original armor; and
4. If the cable has metallic shielding around each conductor, then the newshielding shall be equivalent to that of the original shielding.
E. All underground high-voltage transmission cables shall be:
1. Installed only in regularly inspected airways;
2. Covered, buried, or placed on insulators so as to afford protectionagainst damage by derailed equipment if installed along the haulage road;
3. Guarded where miners regularly work or pass under them unless they are 61/2 feet or more above the floor or rail;
4. Securely anchored, properly insulated, and guarded at ends; and
5. Covered, insulated or placed to prevent contact with trolley circuits andother low-voltage circuits.
F. New high-voltage disconnects installed on or after January 1, 2007, on allunderground electrical installations shall automatically ground all threepower leads when in the open position.
G. All power wires and cables shall be insulated adequately where they passinto or out of electrical compartments, where they pass through doors andstoppings, and where they cross bare power wires.
H. Where track is used as a power conductor:
1. Both rails of main-line tracks shall be welded or bonded at every joint,and cross bonds shall be installed at intervals of not more than 200 feet. Ifthe rails are paralleled with a feeder circuit of like polarity, suchparalleled feeder shall be bonded to the track rails at intervals of not morethan 1,000 feet;
2. At least one rail on secondary track-haulage roads shall be welded orbonded at every joint, and cross bonds shall be installed at intervals of notmore than 200 feet; and
3. Track switches on entries shall be well bonded.
(Code 1950, §§ 45-82, 45-82.1; 1954, c. 191; 1966, c. 594, § 45.1-78; 1993,c. 442; 1994, c. 28; 1996, c. 774; 1999, c. 256; 2005, c. 3.)