Schneider Electric Bats for the Adoption of Highest Safety Standards in the Electrical Equipment Industry in India
Pune: – Schneider Electric, a global specialist in energy management and automation, today reiterated the pressing need for safety standards in the electrical equipment industry in India while announcing the availability of Prisma iPM and IEC 61439-1&2 the most reliable switchboard combination, in Maharashtra. The launch helped draw attention to the current hazardous scenario prevailing in the country resulting in mammoth losses, due to usage of substandard electrical infrastructure within the building which has resulted in huge losses in terms of human life and assets. It also brought into focus the substandard installation practices in the electrical industry. Prisma reiterated the safe, secure and preventive use of electrical tools in India.
In India as many as1, 21,325 accidental fires injured 13,721 people over the past five years. The number of deaths due to fire by spurious installations or electrical faults have been constantly increasing year on year, despite technological advancements. Interrupted power availability and accidents are some of the key reasons impacting our economic growth of the country. According to recent reports, incidents of power failure and fire have gone up alarmingly over the years which have built the ground for higher safety standards for switchgear and other low-voltage equipment.
Commenting on the safety requirements of the industry, Mr. Pankaj Dharkar, National President FSAI and Director, Pankaj Dharkar and Associates said, “There has been great progress in driving robust standards for fire safety in India over the last few years. These include best practices around dealing with fire accidents and containment of damage when fire strikes. However, we now need to be cognizant of the fact that 45% of fire is caused by electrical faults and it high time we address the root cause of this critical issue. We need to turn our focus on addressing the ‘why’ of these accidents and stemming that.”
Following up on its commitment to bringing safety and standardisation in the industry, Schneider Electric launched its new Prisma switchboard architecture for buildings. Schneider Electric has over the last three years been engaged in pioneering skills development too to create a fault proof ecosystem of safety in electrical industry. It has also been working at developing an easily accessible framework for people working in the electrical installation industry. Over the last several years training over 140,000 electricians in the country. The discerning customer involved in buying houses too needs to be cognizant of safety standards expected from this ecosystem.
The Prisma iPM solution integrates Schneider Electric switchgear which includes distribution systems and enclosures. These quality components have been designed to operate together with optimized performances: mechanical electrical and communications consistency are ensured. Switchboards designed and manufactured with the solution have all the qualities needed to ensure energy availability.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Shrinivas Chebbi, President, Building Business, Schneider Electric India, said, “Safety and standardisation is the need of the hour for the electrical industry in India to become a globally competitive market and achieve the planned power generation and transmission capacity addition targets along with growth of infrastructure and other industrial sectors. The new standards – IEC 61439- gives the design and verification requirements so that no failure is expected in case of fault, disturbance, or operation in severe environment conditions. Compliance to the standards shall insure that the switchboard will operate correctly not only in normal, but also in difficult conditions.”
