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First Friday Coffee & Conversations

March 6, 2026
mike@standardsmichigan.com
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Standards South Carolina | Clemson University Net Position 2024 ($1.089B) | Page 37

Faculty discuss at a STRIDE event at the Barnes Center.

First Friday Coffee and Conversations

Six Week Priority

March 6, 2026
mike@standardsmichigan.com
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For the entirety of March, and until April 9th, we focus on preparing response to proposed changes to the IEEE 2028 National Electrical Safety Code, and to prepare fresh new ideas for the 2029 NFPA National Electrical Code (where we have had tenure on technical committees since 1999 on behalf of the second largest building construction market in the United States).

Content normally scheduled for this time of year (which traditionally tracks the cultural calendar of educational settlements everywhere) will be accessible but our daily online meetings will start with work on those two standards. To join the “code-writing and vote-getting” use the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.

Related:

IEEE Education & Healthcare Facilities Committee

Current Issues & Recent Research

2029 National Electrical Code Panel 3

Healthcare Facilities Code

 

The National Electrical Safety Code is normally revised on a 5-year cycle to incorporate industry and technological changes while ensuring safety for utility workers and the public.

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted this schedule by delaying meetings, subcommittee reviews, public input processes, and collaboration due to lockdowns, remote work challenges, and resource strains.

As a result, the typical cycle extended to six years for the 2023 edition (from the 2017 edition), which was published in August 2022 and became effective February 1, 2023.

This adjustment allowed necessary time to complete revisions safely and thoroughly amid pandemic constraints. 

Roadway Electric

March 6, 2026
mike@standardsmichigan.com
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Rules for electric supply (power) and communication (telecommunication) lines and equipment, including those along or crossing roadways across and along campus perimeters. Copyright restrictions prohibit our sharing of the First Draft.  IEEE should be making this draft free of charge according to ANSI’s Incorporation by Reference Recommendations but, alas, we pick our battles. We have purchased the Draft Copy and have been discussing the changes for the past several weeks and will continue to do so until the March 24th deadline.

Shoes hanging on power lines

Relevant sections:

Sections 1–3 and 9 (Introduction, Definitions, References, Grounding Methods) — apply to all parts.

Part 1 (Rules 100–199): Electric supply stations and equipment (substations; generally not roadway-specific).

Part 2 (Rules 200–299): Safety Rules for the Installation and Maintenance of Overhead Electric Supply and Communication Lines — primary coverage for roadway scenarios.

Part 3 (Rules 300–399): Safety Rules for the Installation and Maintenance of Underground Electric Supply and Communication Lines.

Part 4 (Rules 400–499): Rules for the Operation of Electric Supply and Communication Lines and Equipment (work practices, employee/public safety).

 

 

Revisiting the Campus Power Dilemma: A Case Study (Michael A Anthony P.E, Patricia Koman Ph.D, Max Storto Ph.D 2013)

Wires, Roads, and Real-World Challenges at Clemson University

Challenges with Aging Electrical Infrastructure at California State University Fresno

Conceptual Study to Underground Utility Wires in Berkeley (UC Berkeley Campus Area)

Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering v. Department of Telecommunications & Energy: A Massachusetts Supreme Court case where the college challenged utility regulations on power and telecom lines, including overhead and underground installations. The ruling interpreted provisions affecting campus wiring safety and compliance.

Mega Construction Co. v. United States (Virginia Tech Case Study): A construction dispute analyzed at Virginia Tech involving delays and mismanagement in utility projects, including power line installations potentially affecting campus infrastructure.

 

2028 National Electrical Safety Code

NESC 2028 Call for Comment

7th Edition (2018): Geometric Design of Highways & Streets

Bulletin Board

March 6, 2026
mike@standardsmichigan.com
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NIST | USPTO | ANSI | IEEE | ICC | ASTM | ASHRAE | UL | TIA | ASME | ASCE | AGA

Michigan Standards Developers : NSF | ACI | NETA | ASABE | HL7 | RIA | JCSEE | BIFMA | PJRFSI | SAE

Global: SA | BSA | NSAI | CSA | CEN & CENELEC | ISO & IEC*

APPA was founded at the University of Michigan| See our ABOUT

 

 

* ISO and IEC have opted out of the X-social media platforms.  FYI: X is 13 times the size of BlueSky in terms of scale and reach.

https://extension.psu.edu/snowdrops

Quadrivium: Winter

March 6, 2026
mike@standardsmichigan.com

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Pennsylvania State University: Snowdrops

🐦Homophily Michigan 🐦

ANSI Standards Action February 27, 2026 | Bulletin Board

Ibstock Place School

A Better Life: Lionel Shriver

Macdonald-Laurier Institute: How to Reverse Collapsing Birth Rates

Trending | Engagements, Weddings & Births | Sport News | Carillons

MORE

Winter Week 10 | March 2 -8

Starting 2026 we will organize our weekly syllabi in a less structured but in a more time sensitive manner.  Stay tuned.

“…O chestnut tree;, great rooted blossomer,
Are you the leaf, the blossom or the bold?
O body swayed to music, O brightening glance,
How can we know the dancer from the dance?”

— Among Schoolchildren, 1933 William Butler Yeats

We sweep through the world’s three major time zones; updating our understanding of the literature at the technical foundation of education community safety and sustainability in those time zones 24 times per day. We generally eschew “over-coding” web pages to sustain speed, revision cadence and richness of content as peak priority.  We do not provide a search facility because of copyrights of publishers and time sensitivity of almost everything we do.

Readings:

“The Advancement of Learning” Francis Bacon (1605)

“The Allegory of the Cave” 380 BCE | Plato’s Republic, Book VII

Thucydides: Pericles’ Funeral Oration

IEEE Access: Advanced Deep Learning Models for 6G: Overview, Opportunities, and Challenges | Xidian University

“Albion: The Origins of the English Imagination” (2002) Peter Ackroyd

“Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System” Satoshi Nakamoto

“Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds” (1841) | Charles Mackay

Cognitive Science: An Introduction to the Study of Mind

“Kant’s Categorical Imperative” | Hillsdale College Introduction to Western Philosophy

“The Natural History of Stupidity” (1959) Paul Tabori

“The College Idea: Andrew Delbanco” Lapham’s Quarterly

Distributed Representations of Words and Phrases and their Compositionality | Google, Inc. et, al

Our daily colloquia are typically doing sessions; with non-USA titles receiving priority until 16:00 UTC and all other titles thereafter.  We assume policy objectives are established (Safer-Simpler-Lower-Cost, Longer-Lasting).   Because we necessarily get into the weeds, and because much of the content is time-sensitive and copyright protected, we usually schedule a separate time slot to hammer on technical specifics so that our response to consultations are meaningful and contribute to the goals of the standards developing organization and to the goals of stewards of education community real assets — typically the largest real asset owned by any US state and about 50 percent of its annual budget.

1. Leviathan.  We track noteworthy legislative proposals in the United States 118th Congress.  Not many deal specifically with education community real assets since the relevant legislation is already under administrative control of various Executive Branch Departments such as the Department of Education.

We do not advocate in legislative activity at any level.   We respond to public consultations but there it ends.

We track federal legislative action because it provides a stroboscopic view of the moment — the “national conversation”– in communities that are simultaneously a business and a culture.  Even though more than 90 percent of such proposals are at the mercy of the party leadership the process does enlighten the strengths and weakness of a governance system run entirely through the counties on the periphery of Washington D.C.  It is impossible to solve technical problems in facilities without sensitivity to the zietgeist that has accelerated in education communities everywhere.

Michigan Great Lake Quilt

Michigan can 100% water and feed itself.  Agriculture is its second-largest industry.

2.  National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

3. American National Standards Institute (ANSI)

4. Fast Forward  

The Year Ahead 2026

5. Rewind

Retrodiction

Lights Out

6. Corrigenda

 

“The world will never starve for want of wonders;

but only for want of wonder.”

–  G.K Chesterton, The Spirit of Christmas (1905)

 

Mike Anthony with colleagues since 1982 @ UM Ross School of Business Executive Dining Room

 

7th Edition (2018): Geometric Design of Highways & Streets

March 6, 2026
mike@standardsmichigan.com

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Michigan State University

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials is a standards setting body which publishes specifications, test protocols, and guidelines that are used in highway design and construction throughout the United States.  Despite its name, the association represents not only highways but air, rail, water, and public transportation as well.   Its technical committees are responsible for route numbering recommendations.

Although AASHTO sets transportation standards and policy for the United States as a whole, AASHTO is not an agency of the federal government; rather it is an organization of the states themselves. Policies of AASHTO are not federal laws or policies, but rather are ways to coordinate state laws and policies in the field of transportation.

One of its consensus products — the so-called “Green Book” — is heavily referenced in campus design guidelines and construction contracts because most education communities exist within municipal infrastructure.   Power, water supply, sewers to schools and campuses large and small all tend to follow transportation pathways.  The Green Book is revised periodically, the 2018 Edition the most recent.

SUMMARY OF KEY REVISIONS AND UPDATES

We do not advocate in this product at the moment but follow the movement in concepts relevant to education communities; notably the recent reorganization that emphasizes transportation of people, rather than focusing primarily on moving vehicles.  A new chapter discusses multimodal level of service and puts greater emphasis on lower-speed, walkable, urban zones in which new mobility technologies are emerging (such as micro-scooters on campuses)

We maintain the AASHTO catalog on our Pathways, Zoning and Mobility colloquia.  See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting, open to everyone.

Land Measurement

Current Issues & Recent Research

March 6, 2026
mike@standardsmichigan.com

No Comments

“The day science begins to study non-physical phenomena,

it will make more progress in one decade

than in all the previous centuries of existence.”

—  Nikola Tesla

​​

 

Electrical Power System Research

NFPA Electrical Standards Landing Page  Ω NFPA Standards Council  Ω NFPA Fire Safety Landing Page

ASHRAE Landing Page |  ASTM Electrical & Electronics | IES Illumination

Draft IEEE Paper Abstracts | Mike Anthony Short Biography | Electrotechnology OEMS

 IEEE Education & Healthcare Facilities Committee Recent Meeting Minutes 

 

IEEE Southeastern Michigan Section Welcome August 2024

 

 

IEEE & SWE Student Tour of Michigan Stadium Scoreboard | April 2024

IEEE SEM Student Activity 2025

Trending

Electrical Power System Research

NFPA Electrical Standards Landing Page  Ω NFPA Standards Council  Ω NFPA Fire Safety Landing Page

ASHRAE Landing Page |  ASTM Electrical & Electronics

Draft IEEE Paper Abstracts | Mike Anthony Short Biography | Electrotechnology OEMS

We examine the proposals for the 2028 National Electrical Safety Code; including our own. The 2026 National Electrical Code where sit on CMP-15 overseeing health care facility electrical issues should be released any day now. We have one proposal on the agenda of the International Code Council’s Group B Committee Action Hearings in Cleveland in October. Balloting on the next IEEE Gold Book on reliability should begin.

“Tomorrow’s Girls” | Donald Fagan

Policy:

OUTERNET: Crossing over data gap using cubesats

Department of Energy Portfolio Analysis & Management System

Department of Energy Building Technologies Office

FERC Open Meetings | (Note that these ~60 minute sessions meet Sunshine Act requirements.  Our interest lies one or two levels deeper into the technicals underlying the administrivia)

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Federal Communication Commission Michigan Public Service Commission

December 2025 Open Meeting

 December 18 Open Meeting December 5 Open Meeting
August 7 Open Meeting
July 24 Open Meeting July 25 Open Meeting
June 16 Open Meeting January 22: Newly Appointed FCC Chairman Announces Staff Changes June  12 Open Meeting
May 15 Open Meeting May 15 Open Meeting
April 17 Open Meeting April 24 Open Meeting
March 20 Open Meeting
February 20 FERC Open Meeting March 3 Open Meeting
January 16 FERC Press Conference February 27, 2025 Open Meeting

January 23: NARUC Congratulates New FERC, FCC and NRC Chairs

January 22: Newly Appointed FCC Chairman Announces Staff Changes | Related: Falsus in uno, Falsus in omnibus

January 6: City of Ann Arbor Postpones Phase II Study to Municipalize DTE Energy distribution grid

January 27, 10 AM Low-Income Energy Policy Board Meeting: Michigan Public Service commission

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission: January 16, 2025 Open Meeting

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Notice of Request for Comments (Posted November 25, 2024)

Interregional Transfer Capability Study: Strengthening Reliability Through the Energy Transformation Docket No. AD25-4-000

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission | November 21, Open Meeting

Press Conference

Michigan Public Service Commission Meetings

Michigan Public Commission Meeting  February 27, 2025

MPSC DTE CMS Electric Power Reliability Case No. U-21305

Michigan Electrical Administrative Board Meeting February 13, 2025

FCC Open Meeting | November 21 

[Mike Anthony Opinion] on the gales of innuendo against limited federal government voices in federally financed National Public Radio

National Infrastructure Advisory Council: Addressing the Critical Shortage of Power Transformers to Ensure Reliability of the U.S. Grid

H.R. 9603 (September 16): To amend the Federal Power Act to prohibit the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from issuing permits for the construction or modification of electric transmission facilities in a State over the objection of the State, and for other purposes.

Technical: (Also Electrical Power System Research)

Empower Pre-Trained Large Language Models for Building-Level Load Forecasting

Uptime Institute (via NEXT DC) : AI Inference in the Data Center

Majorana Nanowires for Topological Quantum Computing

Linearized Data Center Workload and Cooling Management

Oxford Researchers Discovered How to Use AI To Learn Like A Genius

Lex Fridman: DeepSeek, China, OpenAI, NVIDIA, xAI, TSMC, Stargate, and AI Megaclusters 

IEEE: Experts Weigh in on $500B Stargate Project for AI

IEEE: AI Mistakes Are Very Different Than Human Mistakes .  We need new security systems designed to deal with their weirdness

High-Performance Tensor Learning Primitives Using GPU Tensor Cores

Department of Electrical Engineering, Columbia University, New York

Causes and Consequences of Widespread Power Blackout Across Taiwan on 3 March 2022: A Blackout Incident Investigation in the Taiwan Power System

Department of Electrical Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei City, Taiwan

 

First Draft Proposals contain most of our proposals — and most new (original) content.  We will keep the transcripts linked below but will migrate them to a new page starting 2025:

Electrical Safety

2026 NEC Standards Michigan proposals | Public Input Report CMP-1

2026 NEC Standards Michigan proposals | Public Input Report CMP-2

Public Input Report CMP-3

2026 NEC Standards Michigan proposals | Public Input Report CMP-4

2026 NEC Standards Michigan proposals | Public Input Report CMP-5

Public Input Report CMP-6

Public Input Report CMP-7

Public Input Report CMP-8

Public Input Report CMP-9

2026 NEC Standards Michigan proposals | Public Input Report CMP-10

2026 NEC Standards Michigan proposals | Public Input Report CMP-11

2026 NEC Standards Michigan proposals | Public Input Report CMP-12

2026 NEC Standards Michigan proposals | Public Input Report CMP-13

Public Input Report CMP-14

2026 NEC Standards Michigan proposals | Public Input Report CMP-15

2026 NEC Standards Michigan proposals | Public Input Report CMP-16

Public Input Report CMP-17

2026 NEC Standards Michigan proposals | Public Input Report CMP-18

Related:

2026 National Electrical Code

N.B. We are in the process of migrating electric power system research to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers bibliographic format. 

Recap of the May meetings of the  Industrial & Commercial Power Systems Conference in Las Vegas.  The conference ended the day before the beginning of the 3-day Memorial Day weekend in the United States so we’re pressed for time; given all that happened.

We can use our last meeting’s agenda to refresh the status of the issues.

IEEE E&H Draft Agenda 28 May 2024

On site conference agenda:

IEEE E&H Conference Agenda 21 May 2024

NESC & NEC Cross-Code Correlation

We typically break down our discussion into the topics listed below:

Codes & Standards:

While IAS/I&CPS has directed votes on the NEC; Mike is the only I&CPS member who is actually submitting proposals and responses to codes and standards developers to the more dominant SDO’s — International Code Council, ASHRAE International, UL, ASTM International, IEC & ISO.  Mike maintains his offer to train the next generation of “code writers and vote getters”

Performance-based building premises feeder design has been proposed for the better part of ten NEC revision cycles.  The objective of these proposals is to reduce material, labor and energy waste owed to the branch and feeder sizing rules that are prescriptive in Articles 210-235.  Our work in service and lighting branch circuit design has been largely successful.  A great deal of building interior power chain involves feeders — the network upstream from branch circuit panels but down stream from building service panel.

Our history of advocating for developing this approach, inspired by the NFPA 101 Guide to Alternative Approaches to Life Safety, and recounted in recent proposals for installing performance-based electrical feeder design into the International Building Code, appears in the link below:

Access to this draft paper for presentation at any conference that will receive it — NFPA, ICC or IEEE (or even ASHRAE) will be available for review at the link below:

Toward Performance-Based Building Premise Feeder Design

 

NFPA 110 Definitions of Public Utility v. Merchant Utility

NFPA 72 “Definition of Dormitory Suite” and related proposals

Buildings:

Renovation economics, Smart contracts in electrical construction.  UMich leadership in aluminum wiring statements in the NEC should be used to reduce wiring costs.

Copper can’t be mined fast enough to electrify the United States

Daleep asked Mike to do a Case Study session on the NEC lighting power density change (NEC 220-14) for the IAS Annual Meeting in October.  Mike agreed.

Exterior Campus & Distribution:

Illumination.  Gary Fox reported that IEEE 3001.9 was endorsed as an ANSI accredited standard for illumination systems.

2024-ICPSD24-0012 PERMANENT DESIGN OF POWER SYSTEMS Parise

This paper details primary considerations in estimating the life cycle of a campus medium voltage distribution grid.   Some colleges and universities are selling their entire power grid to private companies.  Mike has been following these transactions but cannot do it alone.

Variable Architecture Multi-Island Microgrids

District energy:

Generator stator winding failures and implications upon insurance premiums.  David Shipp and Sergio Panetta.  Mike suggests more coverage of retro-fit and lapsed life cycle technicals for insurance companies setting premiums.

Reliability:

Bob Arno’s leadership in updating the Gold Book.

Mike will expand the sample set in Table 10-35, page 293 from the <75 data points in the 1975 survey to >1000 data points.   Bob will set up meeting with Peyton at US Army Corps of Engineers.

Reliability of merchant utility distribution systems remains pretty much a local matter.  The 2023 Edition of the NESC shows modest improvement in the vocabulary of reliability concepts.  For the 2028 Edition Mike submitted several proposals to at least reference IEEE titles in the distribution reliability domain.   It seems odd (at least to Mike) that the NESC committees do not even reference IEEE technical literature such as Bob’s Gold Book which has been active for decades.  Mike will continue to propose changes in other standards catalogs — such as ASTM, ASHRAE and ICC — which may be more responsive to best practice assertions.  Ultimately, improvements will require state public utility commission regulations — and we support increases in tariffs so that utilities can afford these improvements.

Mike needs help from IEEE Piscataway on standard WordPress theme limitations for the data collection platform.

Mike will update the campus power outage database.

Healthcare:

Giuseppe Parise’s recent work in Italian power grid to its hospitals, given its elevated earthquake risk.  Mike’s review of Giuseppe’s paper:

Harvard Business School: Journal of Healthcare Management Standards

Mike and David Shipp will prepare a position paper for the Harvard Healthcare Management Journal on reliability advantages of impedance grounding for the larger systems.

The Internet of Bodies

Forensics:

Giuseppe’s session was noteworthy for illuminating the similarity and differences between the Italian and US legal system in handling electrotechnology issues.

Mike will restock the committee’s library of lawsuits transactions.

Ports:

Giuseppe updates on the energy and security issues of international ports.  Mike limits his time in this committee even though the State of Michigan has the most fresh water international ports in the world.

A PROPOSED GUIDE FOR THE ENERGY PLAN AND ELECTRICAL INFRASTRUCTURE OF A PORT

Other:

Proposals to the 2028 National Electrical Safety Code: Accepted Best Practice, exterior switchgear guarding, scope expansion into ICC and ASHRAE catalog,

Apparently both the Dot Standards and the Color Books will continue parallel development.  Only the Gold Book is being updated; led by Bob Arno.  Mike admitted confusion but reminded everyone that any references to IEEE best practice literature in the NFPA catalog, was installed Mike himself (who would like some backup help)

Universities with Quantum Computing Facilities

Papers in Process:

Impedance Grounding Papers 1 and 2 with David Shipp.  Previous Discussion:

https://ieeetv.ieee.org/channels/ieee-region-events/uc-berkeley-s-medium-voltage-grounding-system

Over Coffee and Beers:

Mike assured Christel Hunter (General Cable) that his proposals for reducing the 180 VA per-outlet requirements, and the performance-base design allowance for building interior feeders do not violate the results of the Neher-McGrath calculation used for conductor sizing.  All insulation and conducting material thermal limits are unaffected.

Other informal discussions centered on the rising cost of copper wiring and the implications for the global electrotechnical transformation involving the build out of quantum computing and autonomous vehicles.  Few expressed optimism that government ambitions for the same could be met in any practical way.

Are students avoiding use of Chat GPT for energy conservation reasons?  Mike will be breaking out this topic for a dedicated standards inquiry session:

GPT Power Grid

Education & Healthcare Facility Electrotechnology Committee

Workspace IEEE 1366: Guide for Electric Power Distribution Reliability Indices

Largest U.S. Electric Utility Companies Ranked by Generation Capacity  For IEEE 493 update we seek outage data from the 100 largest campus power system experts.

Standards March: Water

March 6, 2026
mike@standardsmichigan.com
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Curated list of our interest and accomplishments in water-related codes, standards and related best practice literature.

International Building Code | Chapter 29 Plumbing Systems

IAPMO International

Backflow Prevention

Fire Pump Reliability

Legionella

Emergency Shower & Eyewash Testing

Gallery: Great Lakes

Building Water Demand

Water and Electricity

Florida Gulf Coast University | Lee County

Water Management

University of Newcastle | New South Wales

Natatoriums 300: Advanced Topics

University of Southern California | Orange County

Qualität der Wasserversorgung

DRINKING, WASTEWATER & STORMWATER SYSTEMS

 

Spring Break

March 6, 2026
mike@standardsmichigan.com
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Homophily Michigan

Michigan Central

Vegetation & Animal Management

March 5, 2026
mike@standardsmichigan.com
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Facility Management units in educational settlements rarely deal with tree obstruction on overhead supply sources except where off-campus sources provide power to agricultural units. The NESC does not provide specific tree‑species or pruning schedules—that is often left to local utility standards guided by NESC clearances. The IEEE Education & Healthcare Facilities Committee deals with these borderline cases, often collaborating with the IEEE Rural Electric Power Conference.

NESC Minimum Vertical Clearances (Rule 232)

Voltage (kV) Minimum Vertical Clearance (ft)
0 – 750 V 12 ft
0.75 – 22 kV 18 ft
22 – 46 kV 22 ft
46 – 72.5 kV 26 ft
72.5 – 121 kV 30 ft
121 – 145 kV 32 ft
145 – 230 kV 37 ft
230 – 345 kV 40 ft
345 – 500 kV 44 ft
500 – 750 kV 50 ft

NESC Minimum Lateral Clearances (Rule 234)

Voltage (kV) Minimum Lateral Clearance (ft)
0 – 750 V 3 ft
0.75 – 22 kV 3 ft
22 – 46 kV 4 ft
46 – 72.5 kV 5 ft
72.5 – 121 kV 6 ft
121 – 145 kV 6 ft
145 – 230 kV 8 ft
230 – 345 kV 10 ft
345 – 500 kV 12 ft
500 – 750 kV 14 ft

2022 Guide for Animal Deterrents for Electric Power Supply Substations

 

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