The bonding rule for direct buried cables more than 1 meter from power is to bond.

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Bonding is required for direct-burial cables even when they’re buried more than a meter away from power lines to keep everything at the same ground potential and to provide a low-impedance path for fault currents. This prevents dangerous voltage differences that could appear on the cable’s metallic components due to induced or stray currents, and helps ensure protective devices operate correctly and personnel stay safe. Bonding to neutral would not be appropriate here because the purpose is to establish a protective ground reference, not to connect to the power neutral. The need for bonding isn’t dependent on cable type—the intent is to maintain equipotential grounding for safety in the presence of nearby power sources.