XLPE / SWA / PVC
The default armoured distribution cable. Cross-linked insulation for a 90 °C conductor rating, steel wire armour for mechanical protection and earth continuity, PVC oversheath. Direct burial, duct, tray and cleated runs.
Product group 01
Distribution cable, from the substation to the final board.
Low voltage power cable at 0.6/1 kV and 1.8/3 kV — copper or aluminium, armoured or unarmoured, PVC or low-smoke sheathed. Supplied to the construction your consultant specified, with the certificate to match.
Technical envelope
What we can put on a quotation.
Sizes and constructions outside this envelope are usually still available — it just becomes a made-to-order lead time rather than a stock one.
| Rated voltage | 0.6/1 kV and 1.8/3 kV (U0/U) |
|---|---|
| Conductor | Plain annealed copper, tinned copper, or aluminium. Solid and stranded, circular and shaped, to IEC 60228 Class 1, 2, 5 and 6. |
| Insulation | XLPE (cross-linked polyethylene), EPR (ethylene propylene rubber), or PVC |
| Cores | Single core; multi-core up to 5 cores; multi-core above 5 cores for control and auxiliary duty |
| Armour | Unarmoured; steel wire armour (SWA); steel tape armour; aluminium wire armour (AWA, for single-core circuits); aluminium tape armour |
| Screening & barriers | Copper tape screen; lead alloy sheath for hydrocarbon or damp-ground exposure |
| Outer sheath | PVC (type ST1 / ST2) or LSZH — low smoke, zero halogen |
| Core product standards | IEC 60502-1 · BS 5467 (armoured, PVC sheathed) · BS 6724 (armoured, LSZH sheathed) |
| Fire behaviour | IEC 60332-1-2 single-cable flame · IEC 60332-3 bunched cable · IEC 60754 halogen acid gas · IEC 61034-2 smoke density |
| Saudi market entry | Certificate of conformity and SABER registration arranged as part of import — see below |
Constructions
Which one you need, and why.
The commonest specification errors we see are armour chosen for the wrong reason and sheath chosen for the wrong environment. Both are expensive to discover after the drums land.
XLPE / SWA / LSZH
Same electrically, but the oversheath emits little smoke and no halogen acid gas when it burns. Specified for enclosed public areas, escape routes, underground stations, hospitals and anywhere evacuation depends on visibility.
Single-core with aluminium armour
Single-core circuits carrying AC induce currents in a magnetic armour, which heats the cable and wastes capacity. Aluminium wire armour is non-magnetic, which is why it exists. Worth checking any single-core line item that says SWA.
Unarmoured, PVC or LSZH
For runs fully contained in conduit, trunking or tray where mechanical protection comes from the containment rather than the cable. Lighter, cheaper and easier to terminate — provided the containment is genuinely continuous.
Copper tape screened
A screen over the cores for electromagnetic containment rather than mechanical protection — variable speed drives, large motor feeds, and any run parallel with sensitive instrumentation. Screen bonding needs specifying, not assuming.
Lead alloy sheathed
A continuous lead barrier against moisture ingress and hydrocarbon attack. Used in petrochemical plant, contaminated ground and permanently wet ducts, where a polymeric sheath alone will not last the design life.
Aluminium conductor
Materially cheaper per amp than copper and much lighter on long feeder runs. The trade-off is a larger cross-section for the same current and terminations that must be made for aluminium — bimetallic lugs, correct torque, inhibitor paste.
Multi-core control & auxiliary
Above five cores, for switchgear interlocking, plant control and auxiliary supplies. Numbered cores, armoured or unarmoured, in the same insulation and sheath families so the whole installation behaves consistently in a fire.
IEC 60502-1IEC 60228BS 5467BS 6724
IEC 60332-1-2IEC 60332-3IEC 60754IEC 61034-2
The part most suppliers leave to you
Conformity is where cable actually gets stuck.
Electrical cable entering Saudi Arabia needs a certificate of conformity and a SABER registration against the correct product code before it clears. The failure is rarely the cable — it is a certificate issued against a slightly different construction, a description that does not match the invoice, or a registration raised after the container already sailed.
Because customs brokerage is our own business rather than a third party's, the conformity documentation is checked against the purchase order before the goods ship, not after they arrive. That is the single biggest reason cable lands on programme.
Drums are heavy, awkward and easy to damage. Delivery is planned around your site's access and booking window, with offloading agreed in advance rather than discovered at the gate.
What to send for a price
- Cable schedule or bill of quantities, in any format
- The consultant's specification clause, if there is one
- Sizes, core counts and total lengths per item
- Whether drum lengths matter, or cut lengths are acceptable
- Delivery location and any site access restriction