IEEE and Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) Agreement Facilitates Development of Pakistan Electric and Telecommunication Safety Code (PETSAC-2014) Based on National Electrical Safety Code® (NESC®)

PISCATAWAY, N.J. & ISLAMABAD

IEEE, the world’s largest professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for humanity, and the Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) today announced completion of the Pakistan Electric and Telecommunication Safety Code (PETSAC-2014). Based in part on the National Electrical Safety Code^® (NESC^®), for which the IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA) has served as secretariat since 1972, PETSAC-2014 provides rules for safe practices in design, installation, operation and maintenance of electric supply and telecommunication systems.

The Government of Pakistan on 30 July 2015 notified PETSAC-2014 for implementation by electrical power and telecommunication utilities, both private and public, across Pakistan, and the code is to be made fully effective within six months. The Pakistan Engineering Council plans to arrange workshops and seminars across the country for mass dissemination and publicity of PETSAC-2014, which was created with financial assistance from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-Power Distribution Program, Pakistan.

“PETSAC-2014 provides a unified system of safety standards for safeguarding human lives and reducing material loss,” said Engr Jawed Salim Qureshi, chairman, Pakistan Engineering Council. “The prime objective of PETSAC-2014 is to help reduce fatal and non-fatal occupational accidents among directly exposed workforce and the general public and to contribute to the safety of valuable assets of the concerned utilities. PEC highly appreciates the support extended by the IEEE Standards Association for development of PETSAC-2014.”

IEEE and PEC signed an agreement to enable use of the NESC in developing PETSAC-2014. For 100 years, companies and workers alike have relied upon the NESC to help guard the safety and efficiency of electric supply, communication lines and related equipment. One of the oldest and most ubiquitous safety codes, the NESC has been in continuous use since August 1914. The code is published exclusively by IEEE.

“We congratulate the Pakistan Engineering Council on its successful completion of PETSAC-2014, and we are honored that its development was based on the NESC,” said Mike Hyland, NESC chair and senior vice president at the American Public Power Association. “The NESC contains basic safety provisions that are considered necessary under specified conditions, and the code has a track record of more than 100 years of working within its scope to contribute to the protection of utility workers and the general public in many parts of the world.”

For more information on PETSAC-2014, please visit http://www.pec.org.pk/codes.aspx.

For more information on the NESC, please visit http://standards.ieee.org/about/nesc/.

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About the Pakistan Engineering Council

The Pakistan Engineering Council (http://www.pec.org.pk) is a statutory body, constituted under the PEC Act 1976 (V of 1976) amended upto 24th January 2011, to regulate the engineering profession in the country such that it shall function as key driving force for achieving rapid and sustainable growth in all national, economic and social fields. The council shall as its mission set and maintain realistic and internationally relevant standards of professional competence and ethics for engineers, and licence engineers, and engineering institutions to competently and professionally promote and uphold the standards.

About the IEEE Standards Association

The IEEE Standards Association, a globally recognized standards-setting body within IEEE, develops consensus standards through an open process that engages industry and brings together a broad stakeholder community. IEEE standards set specifications and best practices based on current scientific and technological knowledge. The IEEE-SA has a portfolio of over 1,100 active standards and more than 500 standards under development. For more information visit http://standards.ieee.org.

About IEEE

IEEE, a large, global technical professional organization, is dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. Through its highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional and educational activities, IEEE is the trusted voice on a wide variety of areas ranging from aerospace systems, computers and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power and consumer electronics. Learn more at http://www.ieee.org.

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IEEE Standards Association
Shuang Yu, +1-732-981-3424
Director, Global Standards Solutions & Content Marketing
shuang.yu@ieee.org
or
Pakistan Engineering Council
Faiz ul Sibtain, +92333-5166828
Project Coordinator, PETSAC-2014
sibtain@pec.org.pk