As electrical cables for equipment have both insulated conductors ( and possibly an earth wire ) bonded together, clamp meters are often used with what is essentially a short extension cord with the two conductors separated, so that the clamp can be placed around only one conductor of this extension.
22.
In November 2005, he advised that " New Zealand's electricity grid is so overworked that some lines cannot be taken out for servicing ", which was vindicated by the 2006 Auckland Blackout, when half of Auckland lost power during a storm, because an earth wire snapped and fell on switching equipment.
23.
The incoming neutral connects to the lower busbar on the right side of the panel, which is in turn connected to the neutral busbar at the top left . The incoming earth wire connects to the lower busbar on the left side of the panel, which is in turn connected to the earth busbar at the top right.
24.
Unlike in North America, the existence of the Earth wire within the sheath is " always " specified if it is present ( e . g . " Twin " cable has two conductors and " Twin and Earth " cable has three . ) The earth conductor is always multi-stranded ( unlike North American usage ) and covered with Green / Yellow plastic insulation.
25.
Plugs generally have three prongs, the live, neutral and ground, the live and the neutral are the circuit, the ground is used if the appliance has a meatl outer casing, if through faulty wiring etc . this casing becomes live the ground / earth wire is a better conductor than you, so that should you touch the appliance you wont become the unlucky link to the earth.
