§ 2-20 Street Light and Power.
RCNY § 2-20
(a)General requirements. Any person installing, repairing, removing, using or working within three (3) feet of any type of City electrical equipment or non-City electrical equipment attached to City Property, including communication circuits, shall comply with the following requirements: (1) Except as otherwise provided by law or rule, no person shall attach any item to any City electrical equipment, including but not limited to, street light poles and poles containing electrical traffic control devices, such as traffic signal poles, and pedestrian and bicycle signal poles, without permission from the Department.
(2)Only public utilities, public benefit corporations, City agencies or licensed and insured contractors shall be permitted to install, repair, use or work within three (3) feet of any type of City electrical equipment or non-City electrical equipment attached to City Property, including communication circuits.
(3)Except as otherwise provided by law or rule, all electrical installations, connections, supports, devices, and equipment, including but not limited to, communication circuits, shall be designed and installed in compliance with the general requirements of the National Electrical Code (NEC) or, in the case of Public Utilities, the National Electrical Safety Code (NESC).
(4)All public infrastructure work, including work in streets, bridges, parks and public places, shall be designed and installed in compliance with these rules; standard electrical engineering practice; the National Electric Code (NEC) or, in the case of Public Utilities, the National Electrical Safety Code (NESC); the Standard Detail Drawings; the Standard Specifications; the Department's Instructions for Filing Plans & Guidelines for the Design of Sidewalks, Curbs, Roadways and other Infrastructure Components; the Department's Bureau of Traffic, Division of Street Lighting Standard Drawings; and all other applicable laws and rules.
(5)All required applications and/or forms, plans and certifications, relating to work that is subject to these rules shall be submitted to the Department's Street Lighting and/or Traffic Signals Units for approval prior to the issuance by the Department of a permit. No work shall commence prior to the issuance of such permit. Approval of adjustments to the work performed shall be obtained from the Department prior to commencing any such adjustments. Changes in the work may be mandated by the Department for the purpose of conforming the work to the requirements of these rules.
(6)The Department's Electrical Inspections Unit shall be notified by persons performing all proposed non-emergency work at least seventy-two (72) hours prior to commencement. Application to the Department for a permit or other authorization at least seventy-two (72) hours prior to commencement of non-emergency work shall be deemed notice.
(7)No person shall break, deface, remove, or interfere with any lamp, gas, communication or electrical apparatus, or any part thereof, which shall be hung or fixed in any street or public place, or extinguish the light therein except as authorized by the Department. All instances of damaged gas, communication or electrical equipment shall be reported to the 311 Government Services & Information for New York City telephone number and/or the contact telephone number on any applicable permits. The New York City Police Department shall also be notified, as appropriate.
(8)Any person installing a connection to any type of City electrical equipment or non-city electrical equipment attached to City property shall make arrangements with the appropriate electric utility company to pay for the electricity that will be used to operate said equipment.
(9)An inspector from the Department may visit a work site upon receiving a complaint, or as a matter of routine inspection, to monitor compliance with these rules. In the event that the inspector deems a condition at the work site to be imminently dangerous, the party determined to be responsible for creating such condition shall immediately remove or correct the condition upon notification by the Department. For conditions not deemed imminently dangerous, the party determined to be responsible for creating such condition shall be provided with an Electrical Remove or Repair (EROR) report identifying the condition needing correction. The EROR report would require a cure period of forty-eight (48) hours to correct the condition. If the condition is not corrected within forty-eight (48) hours, then a Notice of Violation shall be issued against the party determined to be responsible for creating such condition. Said violations may be issued on-site or by mail. Notwithstanding the preceding sentences in this paragraph there shall be no cure period afforded with respect to compliance with emergency conditions, such as, but not necessarily limited to, those listed in 34 RCNY § 2-20(a)(4), (a)(7), (b)(5), (b)(9), (e)(11), (m)(1), (n)(5), and (t)(5), where an imminent dangerous condition results due to improper installation, maintenance and/or removal.
(b)Shunts: Overhead, Street and Wrap-around Shunts.
(1)This subdivision shall apply to overhead, street and wrap-around shunts attached to City electrical equipment or running over/along a roadway or sidewalk.
(11)All existing overhead and street shunts shall be removed within ninety (90) days of the effective date of this section. If not so removed, permits shall be obtained for each shunt within that ninety (90) day time period and the shunts shall be replaced with permanent connections as provided in paragraph 4 above, unless waived by the Department in writing.
(c)Electrical Traffic Control Devices.
(d)Cable Guards and Standpipes/Overhead Wiring.
(e)Conductors – Aerial/Overhead.
(10)Conductors shall be spliced or joined so as to be both mechanically and electrically secure. The splices shall be covered with insulation equal to that on the conductors.
(12)Conductors shall, where exposed to weather, be supported on insulators approved in advance by the Department.
(13)Conductors shall enter a switch or cutout box or cabinet through approved bushings at the bottom of such box or cabinet wherever practical. Where conductors enter boxes or cabinets at the side, they shall be provided with drip-loops in addition to the approved bushings.
(14)The following minimum clearances are required, except where otherwise specifically permitted by the Department: Table B Nature of CrossingConductors Guys, Spans, MessengersUnder 300 Volts300 Volts to 750 Volts750 Volts to 15,000 Volts15,000 Volts to 33,000 VoltsAbove track rails of freight railroads.27 feet27 feet28 feet30 feetAbove track rails of elevated railways.25 feet25 feet25 feet25 feetAbove track rails of surface railways.22 feet22 feet25 feet25 feetAbove streets18 feet18 feet20 feet22 feetAbove sidewalks and alleyways.14 feet**For guys, 8 feet shall be sufficient for anchor guys not crossing pathways.18 feet20 feet22 feet (15) Minimum Wire Crossing Clearances: The following minimum clearances or separations between conductors crossing each other and on different supporting structures are required except where otherwise specifically permitted by the Department. Table CConductors of lines operating at the voltages indicated at the heads of columns shall, unless otherwise permitted by the Department, be installed above those in the left hand column of the table. Voltage ClassificationCommunication0 to300V300V to750V750V to8,700V8,700V to33,000VGuys**Communication2 feet4 feet*4 feet4 feet6 feet2 feet0 to 300 V2 feet2 feet2 feet4 feet2 feet300 to 750 V2 feet2 feet4 feet2 feet750 to 7,500 V2 feet4 feet4 feetGuys**2 feet2 feet2 feet4 feet4 feet2 feetBuildings or other structures8 feet8 feet8 feet10 feet10 feet * This may be reduced to 2 feet providing the crossing is not within 6 feet of any pole concerned in the crossing. ** Also span wires, messengers, lightning protection wires and service loops.
(f)Cross Arms. Cross arms on City electrical equipment shall not be longer than necessary for the number of conductors that may reasonably be anticipated to support utility cables.
(g)Electrical Construction.
(h)[Intentionally left blank] (i) Overhead Distribution Structures.
(j)Equipment and Equipment Repairs.
(k)Conduits.
(l)Grounding.
(m)Work site safety.
(n)Guys and Anchors.
(o)[Intentionally left blank]; (p) Insulators. On communication lines attached to City property, other methods of attachment approved by the Department may be used in lieu of insulators.
(q)Pole Installations.
(r)Persons Installing, Relocating, Removing/Replacing Street Light Poles and/or Installing/Removing Temporary Pole Taps.
(s)Service Conductors, Supply or Communication.
(t)Service Connections for Exterior Electrical Installation.
(ii)Feeders shall be in good condition, properly insulated, continuous without splices and shall be enclosed in metal conduit from the service connection to an approved service head which shall maintain a minimum clearance as listed in Table B of this section. Conductors for light or power shall not be so interconnected as to form a shunt around any service switch or fuse controlling the supply of current to any electrical installation.
(u)[Intentionally left blank] (v) Supports.
(w)Tests, including stray voltage tests.
(i)Prior to performing any installation, removal, repair, and/or work within three (3) feet of any type of City electrical equipment or non-city electrical equipment in the public right-of-way or attached to City Property, including communication circuits, a contractor shall test the equipment for stray voltage. If the equipment tests positive (i.e. has a voltage reading greater than or equal to one (1) volt measured using a voltmeter and a 500 ohm shunt resistor), the electrical contractor shall contact the Department and the appropriate utility company immediately and shall report such test result and the location of the equipment. The contractor shall safeguard the location until the Department and/or the appropriate utility company responds to the location. The electrical contractor shall wait for clearance from the Department and the appropriate utility company prior to the commencement of work.
(x)Transformers and cable boxes.
