3" underground conduit question

[Junkman]

When the power company representative spoke to me about the underground conduit, he told me that 3" PVC was ok from the meter socket out to the pole; however, he wants a metal long sweep where it goes up the pole, and that sweep needs to be grounded to the ground rod at the pole. From the sweep, he said I can use PVC going up the pole.
I just don't understand why the long sweep needs to be metal and why it needs to be grounded. The only thing that I can think of is that it might be easier to pull the wire through. It is the grounding that has me baffled. Could you explain this to me? thanks

 

[mm08822]

The metal sweep is so your pull rope doesn't cut through the inside radius. When pulling tension is high ( long run, lots of bends) it can happen. For simple runs I wouldn't bother. However, POCO rules so just do it.

The grounding is to ensure the sweep has better contact with wet(ter) soil (yeah, I know!)
Also ensures a low resistance path back to the xformer neutral that it could take out the fuse on line side if fault occurs.

 

[Bert_]

Plastic bends can rub through when pulling wire.

If it's buried deep enough the nec has no requirement to ground it. But it's the power company's conduit so they have the ultimate say

 

[Junkman]

Thank you for that information. This morning, I called the Power Company and spoke with the field engineer, who told me the same. When I went to the supply house to pick up the conduit, the fellow behind the counter told me not to use a poly rope for the pull rope, because it would cut into the PVC. The utility only requires a lightweight rope, so they can attach it at one end and pull it through the other.
The trench will be dug tomorrow, and the bottom will be lined with 6" of fine sand. On Wednesday, I will be setting the pipe into the trench. The electrical inspector said he would be there at 3 PM to inspect everything. On Thursday, the trench will be backfilled. Once backfilled, I can call for the utility to install the wires. Was told that they can't schedule the wire pull until it is inspected, backfilled, and certified by the inspector.