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A significant quantity of sub-standard cable purporting to be CCA Cat 5e cable has been removed from an educational establishment in the Isle of Man following an investigation by the Approved Cables Initiative (ACI).

The ACI brought the issue of misselling data cable (Cat5e/Cat6) with Copper Clad Aluminium (CCA) to the attention of electrical contractors last year. Such cables are non-compliant with published national and international standards and although they don’t present a safety risk, the fact they do not perform properly will inevitably damage a contractor’s reputation.

Set against this there are a number of key areas where we want to explore the potential for deregulation and streamlining of the existing provisions. In particular, representations made to Government demonstrate concern with the costs imposed on electricians by part P (electrical safety—dwellings). We believe it is now time to evaluate the building regulations’ contribution to the safety outcomes they were intended to support and, if we are to retain regulation of this kind, how we might minimise the associated costs.

The programme I am setting out today has been arrived at after active engagement with our external partners. A key theme to emerge from this process has been that these partners believe that although the regime is generally fit for purpose, there are things we can improve. This confirms the Department’s belief that the building regulations should remain the national minimum standard that building work should comply with. While much of the programme of work is deregulatory in nature, it will, however, include work to deliver our commitment to increase energy efficiency through part L (conservation of fuel and power). This will represent our next steps towards zero-carbon buildings and will also provide an opportunity to consider provisions for the existing stock in the light of the Government’s emerging policies on reducing carbon emissions, including the green deal. We will also explore how better to ensure high levels of compliance.

The growing demand for cost efficiency, enhanced safety, and reliability in power distribution systems has propelled the demand for busbar trunking systems in the utility sector. The electric distribution system is prefabricated and consists of a set of copper or aluminum bus bars suitably enclosed with superb protection against any foreign materials. Busbar trunking systems have emerged as highly efficient, safe, and ideal electric supply and distribution system suitable for a variety of industrial installations and in high-rise buildings. Enabled by compact design and standard plug-in boxes, these systems can deliver current in the range 125A to 2000A suitable for a wide variety of industrial purposes. They are gaining prominence over normal cabling systems due to a variety of factors.