D.P.R. 462/01

D.P.R. no. 462 of 22/10/2001 entered into force on 23 January 2002.

This Decree of the President of the Republic governs the inspection:

• of earthing installations, whether supplied at voltages below 1,000 V or above 1,000 V;
• of electrical installations in workplaces with an explosion hazard;
• of installations for protection against atmospheric discharges.

D.P.R. 462/01 repealed articles 40 and 328 of D.P.R. 547/55; articles 2, 3 and 4 and Models A, B and C of Ministerial Decree 12/09/59, defining new procedures for notification, homologation and inspection of earthing installations, devices for protection against atmospheric discharges and electrical installations in places with an explosion hazard.

D.P.R. 462/01 officially entered into force on 23 January 2002 (the fifteenth day following its publication in the Official Gazette of the Italian Republic).

As regards inspections of installations, the main novelty introduced by D.P.R. 462/01 is the introduction of Type A Inspection Bodies authorised according to the procedures defined by the Ministry of Productive Activities (MAP), later named Ministry of Economic Development (MiSE) and today Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy (MiMit).

The criteria for identifying Inspection Bodies and the procedure for authorising them to carry out periodic and extraordinary inspections were established by the Directive of 11 March 2002 of the Ministry of Productive Activities, published in Official Gazette no. 108 of 10 May 2002.

D.P.R. 462/01 also:

• introduced greater obligations and responsibilities both for the employer and for installing companies;
• extended the range of activities subject to the obligation to carry out periodic inspections.