[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 30, Volume 1]
[Revised as of July 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 30CFR75.814]

[Page 532-533]
 
                       TITLE 30--MINERAL RESOURCES
 
  CHAPTER I--MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
 
PART 75--MANDATORY SAFETY STANDARDS--UNDERGROUND COAL MINES--Table of Contents
 
            Subpart I--Underground High-Voltage Distribution
 
Sec. 75.814  Electrical protection.

    (a) High-voltage circuits must be protected against short circuits, 
overloads, ground faults, and undervoltages by circuit-interrupting 
devices of adequate interrupting capacity as follows:
    (1) Current settings of short-circuit protective devices must not 
exceed the setting specified in approval documentation, or seventy-five 
percent of the minimum available phase-to-phase short-circuit current, 
whichever is less.
    (2) Time-delay settings of short-circuit protective devices used to 
protect any cable extending from the section power center to a motor-
starter enclosure must not exceed the settings specified in approval 
documentation, or 0.25-second, whichever is less. Time delay settings of 
short-circuit protective devices used to protect motor and shearer 
circuits must not exceed the settings specified in approval 
documentation, or 3 cycles, whichever is less.
    (3) Ground-fault currents must be limited by a neutral grounding 
resistor to not more than--
    (i) 6.5 amperes when the nominal voltage of the power circuit is 
2,400 volts or less; or
    (ii) 3.75 amperes when the nominal voltage of the power circuit 
exceeds 2,400 volts.
    (4) High-voltage circuits extending from the section power center 
must be provided with--
    (i) Ground-fault protection set to cause deenergization at not more 
than 40 percent of the current rating of the neutral grounding resistor;
    (ii) A backup ground-fault detection device to cause deenergization 
when a ground fault occurs with the neutral grounding resistor open; and
    (iii) Thermal protection for the grounding resistor that will 
deenergize the longwall power center if the resistor is subjected to a 
sustained ground fault. The thermal protection must operate at either 50 
percent of the maximum temperature rise of the grounding resistor, or 
150 [deg]C (302 [deg]F), whichever is less, and must open the ground-
wire monitor circuit for the high-voltage circuit supplying the section 
power center. The thermal protection must not be dependent upon control 
power and may consist of a current transformer and overcurrent relay.
    (5) High-voltage motor and shearer circuits must be provided with 
instantaneous ground-fault protection set at not more than 0.125-ampere.
    (6) Time-delay settings of ground-fault protective devices used to 
provide coordination with the instantaneous ground-fault protection of 
motor and shearer circuits must not exceed 0.25-second.
    (7) Undervoltage protection must be provided by a device which 
operates on loss of voltage to cause and maintain the interruption of 
power to a circuit to prevent automatic restarting of the equipment.
    (b) Current transformers used for the ground-fault protection 
specified in paragraphs (a)(4)(i) and (5) of this section must be single 
window-type and must be installed to encircle all three phase 
conductors. Equipment safety

[[Page 533]]

grounding conductors must not pass through or be connected in series 
with ground-fault current transformers.
    (c) Each ground-fault current device specified in paragraphs 
(a)(4)(i) and (5) of this section must be provided with a test circuit 
that will inject a primary current of 50 percent or less of the current 
rating of the grounding resistor through the current transformer and 
cause each corresponding circuit-interrupting device to open.
    (d) Circuit-interrupting devices must not reclose automatically.
    (e) Where two or more high-voltage cables are used to supply power 
to a common bus in a high-voltage enclosure, each cable must be provided 
with ground-wire monitoring. The ground-wire monitoring circuits must 
cause deenergization of each cable when either the ground-monitor or 
grounding conductor(s) of any cable become severed or open. On or after 
May 10, 2002, parallel connected cables on newly installed longwalls 
must be protected as follows:
    (1) When one circuit-interrupting device is used to protect parallel 
connected cables, the circuit-interrupting device must be electrically 
interlocked with the cables so that the device will open when any cable 
is disconnected; or
    (2) When two or more parallel circuit-interrupting devices are used 
to protect parallel connected cables, the circuit-interrupting devices 
must be mechanically and electrically interlocked. Mechanical 
interlocking must cause all devices to open simultaneously and 
electrical interlocking must cause all devices to open when any cable is 
disconnected.