These Regulations implement Council Directive No. 73/23/EEC on the harmonisation of the laws of member States relating to electrical equipment designed for use within certain voltage limits, as well as revoke a number of UK electrical safety regulations and provide that these requirements no longer apply to electrical equipment, that is, any electrical equipment designed or adapted for use with voltage (in the case of alternating current) of between 50 and 1,000 volts or (in the case of direct current) of between 75 and 1,500 volts, with a few exceptions included within the schedules.
Furthermore, the Regulations require electrical equipment to be safe and constructed in accordance with engineering practice generally accepted as good in the EU legislation. Safe has the same meaning as in the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) 1987 except that the risk of death or injury to domestic animals or of damage to property is treated as being included in the risks there mentioned and a risk arising from the improper installation or maintenance of the equipment or from its use for unintended purposes is treated as being excluded.
