Worldwide Power Cord, Plug & Socket Standards

A technical reference covering the mains plug, socket and power cord standards used in Argentina, Australia & New Zealand, Israel and Italy, together with the IEC 60320 appliance-coupler system that links these regional cords to equipment worldwide. The information is drawn from the published technical articles on Cablesgo (cablesgo.com) and re-expressed here for general reference. Always confirm the latest standard revision and certification requirements against the official standards bodies before production.

1. Argentina — IRAM 2063 / 2073 (Type I)

The mains plug and socket used in Class 1 (earthed) applications in Argentina is defined by the Argentine national standards body IRAM. The relevant plug standards are IRAM 2063/2073, “Two-pole plugs with earthing contact for domestic and similar purposes, rated 10 A and 20 A, 250 V a.c.”, and IRAM 2071, “Two-pole socket-outlets with earthing contact for 10 A and 20 A, 250 V a.c., for fixed installations”. The plug corresponds to the Type I configuration and is rated 10 A or 20 A at 250 V.

The Argentine plug closely resembles the Australasian and Chinese plugs: its pin length is the same as the Chinese version. The key difference from the Australian plug is that the Argentine plug is wired with the line and neutral contacts reversed. This must be taken into account when terminating cords for the Argentine market.

The related IRAM standards for cords and couplers include:

• IRAM 2006 — general requirements for plugs and socket-outlets (aligned with IEC 884-1).
• IRAM 2063 — particular requirements for two-pole plugs without earthing contact, 10 A, 250 V a.c. (Type I).
• IRAM 2073 — particular requirements for two-pole plugs with earthing contact, 10 A and 20 A, 250 V a.c.
• IRAM 2158 — PVC power cords (similar to IEC 227).
• IRAM 2188 — rubber power cords (similar to IEC 245).
• IEC 320 — appliance couplers.

Typical Argentine power cords terminate the IRAM 2063/2073 plug with IEC 60320 connectors such as C7, C5, C13, C15 or C19, and are available with custom length, colour and shielding. Production is expected to meet IRAM certification plus REACH and RoHS requirements.

2. Australia & New Zealand — AS/NZS 3112

The AS/NZS 3112 plug is used in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga, Argentina, the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and parts of China. The standard domestic supply is 230 V a.c., 50 Hz. The plug carries an earthing (ground) pin alongside two flat current-carrying pins arranged in an inverted V-shape. The flat blades measure 6.5 mm × 1.6 mm, are angled at 30° from the vertical and are spaced at a nominal pitch of 13.7 mm between them. All three pins are arranged around a common midpoint; the earth pin is always longer so that the earth connection is made first on insertion and broken last on removal, providing continuous protection.

Wall sockets in Australia and New Zealand are usually switched, similar to the UK. An unearthed two-pin variant exists for small double-insulated appliances, but sockets retain the earth-pin provision for compatibility and future-proofing.

2.1 Current ratings and plug variants

AS/NZS 3112 defines plug variants for higher current ratings, including 15 A, 20 A, 25 A and 32 A. Sockets are designed to accept plugs rated equal to or lower than their own capacity, but not higher, which prevents overloading. For example, a 10 A plug fits all socket types, while a 20 A plug fits only 20 A, 25 A and 32 A sockets.

Table 1 — Australian mains plug variants

Table 2 — Socket compatibility by plug rating

2.2 History and wiring colours

The Australian plug and socket system began with the provisional Standard C112 in 1937, formally adopted in 1938, and was replaced by AS 3112 in 1990. A key update in the 2004 revision introduced insulated pins to reduce the risk of electric shock during insertion and removal. The current version is AS/NZS 3112:2017, with Amendment 1 from 2021.

Table 3 — Standard wire colours

Active and Neutral pin dimensions are 6.35 mm × 1.63 mm for 10 A plugs and 9.08 mm × 1.63 mm for 20 A plugs. Note that the Active and Neutral conductors are reversed depending on whether a socket or a plug is being wired.

3. Israel — SI 32 (IS16A-R)

The plug defined by SI 32 (IS16A-R) is used only in Israel and the Palestinian territories (the West Bank and the Gaza Strip). Two versions exist: an older one with flat pins and a newer one with round pins. In 1989 the standard was revised to use three round 4.5 mm (0.177 in) pins in the same locations, so that sockets accept both older and newer Israeli plugs as well as non-earthed Europlugs often used in Israel for equipment that needs no earthing and draws no more current than the Europlug is rated for.

SI 32 plugs have no sleeve insulation, so when a plug is partially removed its prongs may remain live while being exposed — a potential shock hazard that should be noted in handling and design. Sockets have a defined polarity: viewed from the front, the Neutral is on the left, Earth at the bottom and Line on the right. Israel power cords typically carry SII certification and are built to SI 32 and IEC standards, with IEC C7, C5, C13, C15 and C19 terminations available.

4. Italy — CEI 23-50

The mains plug and socket used in Italy covers Types C, F and L, operating at a standard voltage of 230 V and a frequency of 50 Hz. Italian earthed plugs and sockets are defined by CEI 23-50, which superseded CEI 23-16. The standard defines two models rated at 10 A and 16 A that differ in contact diameter and spacing. Both are symmetrical, allowing the line and neutral contacts to be inserted in either direction. The Type L plug is also commonly used in Chile and Uruguay.

Italian cords are typically manufactured to CEE and IEC standards and may carry IMQ certification. Available configurations include two-wire cords, Type L cords (10 A/250 V and heavy-duty 16 A/250 V), as well as cords terminated with IEC 60320 C5, C13, C15 and C19 connectors.

5. IEC 60320 Appliance Couplers

IEC 60320 is the international system of non-rewirable appliance couplers that standardizes the equipment-end connector of a power cord. Common connectors include the C7, C5, C13, C15 and C19 inlets/connectors, with C14-to-C13 and C20-to-C19 configurations used for computers, servers and PDUs.

IEC 60320 cables come in normal and high-temperature variants and in various current ratings. The connectors are shaped so that a cable with a lower temperature or current rating cannot be substituted in place of a higher-rated one, while an over-rated cable may still be used. Cords also use different exterior jackets to suit environmental conditions such as moisture, temperature, oils, sunlight, flexibility and heavy wear — for example, a heating appliance may be fitted with a cord designed to withstand accidental contact with hot surfaces.

6. Reference Sources

The technical content above is compiled from the following technical articles published on Cablesgo (www.cablesgo.com):

• Argentina Power Cord Standards — https://www.cablesgo.com/argentina-power-cord-standards/
• Australian & New Zealand Power Cord Standards — https://www.cablesgo.com/australian-new-zealand-power-cord-standards/
• Israel Power Cord Standards — https://www.cablesgo.com/israel-power-cord-standards/
• Italian Power Cord Plug & Extension Socket — https://www.cablesgo.com/italian-power-cord-standards/

This document re-expresses the factual technical information from those articles in original wording. For commercial publication, verify current standard revisions and certification requirements with the relevant standards bodies, and avoid reproducing the source articles’ text or images verbatim.