A Protective conductor is a conductor used for some measure of protection against electric shock and intended for connecting together any of the following parts:

▪ exposed conductive parts
▪ extraneous conductive parts
▪ main earthing terminal
▪ earth electrode(s)
▪ earthed point of the source

Protective conductors are not current-carrying and are also referred to as PE, which is the abbreviation for “protective earth”. This is a safety device to protect against electric shock.