KEC to replace electrical equipment technology standards from 2021
Electrical installation technology standards introduced from Japan in 1962,
It has caused confusion due to noncompliance with IEC international standards.


In 1995, when the WTO/TBT Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade came into effect, the IEC international standards began to be applied in the domestic electrical installation regulations field. However, since they were not consistent with the existing 'Electrical Installation Technical Standards' introduced from Japan in 1962, there have been problems of inconsistency in their application.

On the 29th, Schneider Electric held a press conference at the Millennium Hilton Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul to introduce the direction of the revision of the IEC international standard and the Korean standard, KEC, based on it. The conference included an introduction to the IEC international standard and an explanation of the Korea Electro-technical Code (KEC), which will be applied from January 2021.

The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is a non-profit international standardization organization for electrical, electronic, and related technologies, founded in 1906 in Geneva, Switzerland. Korea is a full member of the IEC and participates in the process of establishing international standards.

IEC international standards can be developed and established only with the consent of two-thirds of member countries, and have subcommittees responsible for different topics. Standard development takes about three years, and member countries have equal say regardless of their national size.

KEC began development in 2011 when the government and the Korea Electrical Association shared the need to develop Korean standards that meet international standards. KEC is scheduled to be introduced in 2021 after a three-year grace period to minimize confusion in the industry following the announcement in 2018.

KEC, which integrated the existing judgment criteria that were divided into the electrical equipment and power generation equipment fields, organized them into ▲common items ▲low-voltage electrical equipment ▲high-voltage and extra-high-voltage electrical equipment ▲electric railway equipment ▲distributed power equipment ▲thermal power equipment for power generation ▲hydroelectric power equipment for power generation. It also organized them into a numbering system that takes future expandability into account.

Jacques Perrone, IEC TC 64 Chairman, who attended the meeting that day, introduced the IEC and explained the following topics: ▲IEC 60364 organization ▲global standard application trends ▲differentiating points of the IEC 60364 standard under the topic of ‘Revision direction of the International Electrical Installation Regulation IEC 60364 and its impact on the domestic market.’

IEC 60364 is a standard for low-voltage electrical equipment (AC 1000 V, DC 1500 V or less) in building electrical equipment. The low voltage specified in the standard is AC 600 V, DC 750 V or less, and until January 2021, either IEC 60364 or electrical equipment technical standards must be selected and applied, and the two standards cannot be used together.

From January 2021, the electrical installation technical standards will be replaced by KEC based on IEC 60364. This is expected to resolve field application issues that have arisen due to partial application of IEC, such as insufficient details and inconsistent content.

“Energyization is progressing rapidly worldwide,” said Jacques Perrone, Chair of IEC TC 64. “Standardization of the electrical equipment market will greatly contribute to maximizing energy efficiency, user safety, and national development.”

He also said, “As KEC is based on the IEC international standard, which is applied by more than 82% worldwide, it will resolve the problem of dual application standards in domestic and overseas markets,” and “It will contribute to enhancing global capabilities by improving the competitiveness of Korean electric-related companies and activating overseas expansion.”