NEC Changes and Adoption
Did you know…
NEC Changes and Adoption
It is approaching that time again, bikini season, whoops…. Wrong article, NFPA 70 Public Input Stage. Most, if not all of us in the electrical industry are well aware the NEC is revised, then updated every three years for the latest version. This blog will not go into any further discussion of government adoption, but the link below to the NFPA website provides a map of NEC State adoption, color coded by the code cycle year adopted.
http://www.nfpa.org/NEC/NEC-adoption-and-use/NEC-adoption-maps
The NEC process can be broken down into four steps. It all begins with the issuance of a public notice that the NEC revision process has begun, this is usually within a few days of a newly released edition of the NEC. Fun time, if you are involved in the electrical industry, you or somebody you know have at some point discussed how a particular Section of the NEC could be or have been improved by the code making panel (CMP). Reality is anybody in the electrical industry can have a significant impact on the NEC, it is truly a consensus standard.
After issuance of public notice that the NEC revision process has begun anybody can submit a public input on NFPA’s website. Public inputs are most often submitted by interested parties such as the IAEI but can be submitted by any individual as well.
The Public Input or PI
Public inputs will require identification of the submitter, and the organization or company affiliation of the submitter. The submitter can also simply be unaffiliated with any company or organization, just a NEC geek wanting to be heard. PI’s must identify the specific Code Section of the proposed revision. Next the PI will need a statement of the problem and substantiation for why the change is necessary. All that’s left now is the proposed wording of the revised text or the wording to be deleted.
In conclusion I leave all with the infamous words of Keith Loftland that would be spoken several times during any of the many educational seminars he had instructed for IAEI. “I look forward to your public input”.
Author
Chris Papp
