Class 5 conductors, a threat to nation’s safety

Class 5 conductors has less copper usage; so, more the power consumption and loss. We, at RR Kabel, are fighting to get it banned from the house wire category.
Shreegopal Kabra, Managing Director, RR Kabel

Shreegopal Kabra, Managing Director, RR Kabel is fighting a lone battle to ban Class 5 conductor from house wire category. In a conversation with Athira Bejoy, he expresses his concern over lack of priority being given to human lives by using these conductors as building wires.

How do you view the constant current leakage that is happening in the flexible wires?
Most of the time, house wires or building wires are made of flexible wires. Flexible wires have to be stripped before using. So, when we remove the insulation, no matter what you do, breakage of wire will happen; it’s just the way how wires work. Also, while stripping both the ends, it may so happen that two different strings may get cut, causing major reduction in the size of the wire; eventually leading to current leakage.

Globally, no where in the world, flexible wires are being used as building/house wires. Right now, only India is making use of it. Earlier, manufacturing of house wires was mainly reserved for small scale industries. So, one of the first corporate companies in India started using flexible wire as house wires which moving forward gave rise to the trend of using flexible wires throughout in buildings/houses. This has been going on for the last 14 years. This itself is wrong, ideally, it should be the globally accepted 7 stranded building wire that needs to be used as house or building wires.

Please walk us through the friendship between UCT and electricity. What makes UCT stand out from others?
Having UCT in wires is considered to be the best. In UCT, the wire strips are wound in circle so that no air leakage happens within the wire. The wires in this case, are typically round and there is question of breakage happening due its tight wounding. This is typically the main advantage of choosing wires with UCT. In UCT, all the wires are like a unilayered bunch, so it becomes semi-solid with no chance of breaking any string and the high quality of copper; the major reason behind its high cost. However, owing to its non-breaking property, it is fully worth the money.

What is the current market status of UCT cables, right now?
UCT is a slow moving product due to its cost which is on higher side. The high cost of UCT is due to the use of high quality copper. UCT uses circular wires with lots of copper. More the copper usage, more the charge. So, instead of opting for a less-cost product, people should opt for this. The main reason being, it gives more safety than the other commonly used wires.

Who do you think is the main culprit behind all these?
In India, we are far behind in prioritising electrical safety. As a matter of fact, 45 per cent of wires used in houses are non-standardised. The industries have now moved on to using Class 5 conductor of house wire; another big issue. If we consider the usage of wires, globally, especially in UK, the panel wire that is used is BS6231 and for building wire, it is BS6004.

In 2010, BIS implemented IS 694. So, now IS 694 specifies panel wire and building wire as the same. Manufacturers are now taking advantage of this and have started giving Class 5 conductors as building wires. In class 5 conductors, copper usage is less. Less the copper usage, more the power consumption and loss.

Two kinds of packaging are right now available in the market; 90 metre for retail and 200 metre for projects. All the companies, in projects, are giving Class 5 conductors. Our nation is losing large sums of money when it comes to electricity. 9.2 per cent more electrical power is consumed in 1.5 and 2.5 sq.mm wires.

We, at RR Kabel, have been fighting to get the Class 5 conductor banned in house wire category. Government, once announced that India is saving 7.5 billion power by using LED. However, LED is just one product that is being used; the current anyhow needs a good wire to flow. All the appliances need wires to function. So, Class 5 conductors are the biggest culprit, causing the biggest loss, which has been happening in our country for the past few years.

What kind of initiatives are you taking up against this?
We, at RR Kabel, have initiated the movement to ban the class 5 conductors. We have talked to the government at all the levels, so we are hoping it will be done the earliest.

Another biggest challenge is the insulation. If we consider the global scenario, it is mandatory to use only LSOH (Low Smoke Halogen Free Cable) at commercial places. However, in India, we don’t make much use of it at all, be it high-rise buildings or commercial buildings.

Why do you think India is fighting a forever battle to put a premium on public safety?
Dealing with fire is a big challenge for India. Between 2001 to 2014, 3,50,000 people died due to fire i.e. an average of 52 people dying every other day due to fire. 85 per cent fire is caused due to electricity failure. Out of this 85 per cent, almost 70-80 per cent is because of short circuit, be it anywhere in the world. The major reason of short circuit fire is PVC wire.

When a fire happens, PVC creates high amount of black toxic smoke. Because of the dense smoke, there is no visibility. People caught in such hazardous situation fall helpless, having no clue how to exit or escape.

Ideally, PVC should be banned in the wire industry. I understand that it can’t be banned immediately, but at least the government should make it mandatory to have an inspection done in all the commercial buildings, restaurants, shopping malls etc. where the population is more and where the density is greater. The government should keep a check so that when an incident happens the density of smoke is almost zero.

In India, in terms of electrical products, the safety feature is of the lowest level and quality. We are the 6th largest economy and targeting to earn 5-digit income, but we lack in providing safety and security to people.

Why do you think India is not that keen to implement such safety features and generate an awareness among the masses?
There is quite a lot of unawareness among the consultants, contractors, builders and consumers. Basically, the thought is why to invest in a product that is not visible externally. The human tendency is that we only invest or tend to put in money on things that the world can see. We don’t care much about that is invisible to us.

Wires, though the most important, are behind the wall. So, no one really bothers to buy costly products like the UCT cables. When it comes to switches, fan, ceiling lights, we buy the trendiest one without even caring for its cost. But, wires, who checks out wires and its patterns. Wire is a like a no man’s baby.

When I was the President of IEEMA, we had started out an initiative, Electrical Fire Safety Conclave, the 1st time in India. The movement and its sessions are still going on but still it is not catering to enough people and consumers. All the IT companies where they use 24-hour electricity, still use Class 5 conductor because they get contractors to do the job.

If we don’t produce good quality products, then how are we going to gain a hold on exports. Today, our country needs to increase the exports. The best of the best buildings in India will are not using fire resistant or quality wires. Recently, the National Building Code has decided to implement fire resistant cable in all the high-rise buildings. If we take a survey, we would get the actual picture as in how many industries or builders are actually following it. To be honest, there is no one to take a survey. We have a lot of guidelines and codes but no apex body to look after whether these guidelines and standards are being implemented or not.

What is the status of the green buildings? What wiring technology are they using?
Even the buildings which are certified, as green building; with platinum or gold rating are not as green as they claim to be. This is because they are using Class 5 conductors. Green buildings should fulfil their energy saving and recycling promise. The recycling part is happening to an extent, but the energy saving part is not.

What are your expectations from Government 2.0?
Government 2.0 should focus on exports and agriculture, employment. If all these sectors are taken care of, then it would automatically lead to a surpass market increase in cable and wire industry. I attended a meeting in Belgium, where they had done a global survey of wires and cables, and they are of the opinion that the Indian cable and wire industry will grow at rate of 6-7 per cent. As far as the upcoming budget is concerned, we are expecting a 50 per cent reduction in tax on exports.

Any new innovations up for 2019?
We will be launching MV cables; we have the approval too from BIS. Till now, RR Kabel was into low voltage cable. So, this MV cables would soon be added to our list.