At the upcoming 2025 INMR WORLD CONGRESS in Panama, Austen Rau of Hubbell Power Systems will review status of the ongoing collaboration between IEC and IEEE surge arrester standards committees to harmonize arrester test standards. The goal has been to define one set of unified requirements that would qualify surge arrester products for both IEEE and IEC markets, with the logic that a single comprehensive set of tests should demonstrate that an arrester meets minimum standards for use anywhere in the world.
The advantages of this project include shared knowledge and experience of experts from both organizations to update standards for improved reliability of products as well as reduced testing, allowing manufacturers to test products once to qualify to multiple standards. Challenges include navigating the standards development process for both IEC and IEEE and building consensus of an expanded group of experts who have different opinions based on experience testing and applying products in different ways. Despite these challenges, harmonization will ultimately be good both for utilities and the industry.
Much of the harmonization work being done aims to align requirements of IEC 60099-4 and IEEE C62.11, the latest editions of which were published in 2014 and 2020 respectively. The scope of the current editions of these standards includes gapless metal-oxide surge arresters for a.c. systems with system voltage greater than 1 kV. Publication of IEEE C62.11-2020 was an important step to harmonize the requirements with several clauses aligned. Nonetheless, some test clauses still require significant changes for full alignment, and some other test clauses have minor differences to be addressed.
Additionally, significant changes are being proposed for dead-front and separable arrester tests, and additional updates to the short-circuit and salt fog tests will require coordination and approval in both IEC and IEEE standards committees. The scope of IEEE C62.11 also includes gapped metal-oxide surge arresters, and gapped arresters covered by a separate IEC standard, 60099-6.
