We rank this year’s top players in electrical contracting. Read more on pg. 38
Safety Fast-Tracking for New Employees pg. 10 Function Vs. Functional Testing pg. 14 Emergency Power Distribution System Failure Analysis pg. 22
Lighting Trends in the Health Care Space pg. 30
Impact of Economic Policy Uncertainty on the Electrical Industry pg. 70
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Seizing on the data center boom and plowing through elevated uncertainty, EC&M Top 50 Electrical Contractors saw revenues hit a new high in 2024.
As new trade policies and tariffs take effect, electrical businesses must adjust
and investment strategies to navigate shifting
With its exclusive online content, ecmweb.com is a valuable source of industry insight for electrical professionals. Here’s a sample of what you can find on our site right now:
FALL PROTECTION CITATION PREVENTION
Safety From the EC&M e-books library: Comprehensive insight into OSHA’s fall protection requirements. ecmweb.com/55311643
BREAKING THROUGH THE BREAKER NEGLIGENCE BARRIER
MRO Don’t let your plant overlook the importance of testing circuit breakers. ecmweb.com/55313005
WHAT NEW YORK’S GAS BAN MEANS FOR THE FUTURE OF ALL-ELECTRIC BUILDINGS
Construction A new all-electric building law in New York is the country’s first large-scale test for gas-ban legislation, setting a precedent for other states. ecmweb.com/55311880
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By Ellen Parson, Editor-in-Chief
After another banner year, EC&M’s Top 50 Electrical Contractors (see special report on page 38) are moving through 2025 with confidence and caution. In 2024 (the full year in which this year’s rankings are based), the collective group pulled in revenues of $59.5 billion, a 15% jump from the prior year marked by a long streak of growth fueled by data centers, energy infrastructure, and manufacturing projects. But as the industry looks forward, mounting economic and policy headwinds — chief among them tariffs — threaten to chip away at margins and potentially disrupt projects in the pipeline.
When it comes to translating the ramifications that may come from the unpredictable tariff situation, I asked Alex Chausovsky, Director of Analytics and Consulting at the Bundy Group, to put the data into perspective for the EC&M audience. In the feature starting on page 70, he does an excellent job of explaining the impact of economic policy uncertainty on the electrical industry specifically.
The Trump administration’s aggressive trade stance has arguably triggered the most significant wave of uncertainty the market has experienced since the pandemic. As Chausovsky points out, tariffs on steel, aluminum, and copper (bedrock materials for the electrical market) are pushing up material costs at a time when electrical contractors are already contending with inflation and ongoing skilled labor shortages. In fact, according to the Associated General Contractors, tariffs now total roughly 30% on all imports from China, alongside duties ranging from 25% to 35% on Canadian and Mexican goods (unless USMCA-compliant). Products essential to our industry, such as steel, wire, cable, and conduit, are obviously fully exposed to these higher rates.
As Chausovsky notes in his analysis, estimates suggest the effective tariff rate on imports could settle between 15% and 20%, virtually guaranteeing sustained upward pricing pressure through 2025 and into 2026. For electrical contractors trying to bid and secure projects months or years in advance, these shifting cost dynamics could complicate profitability and risk management. Top 50 survey data underscores this unease. Three-quarters of Top 50 contractors expect tariffs to have a negative impact on their businesses in 2025, and two-thirds anticipate moderate increases in materials prices as a result. Identified by the Top 50 as materials experiencing the greatest prices increases, wire, cable, and distribution equipment are already seeing noticeable increases, and project delays tied to value engineering and material availability continue to be on the rise. While many firms say the industry has weathered similar storms during the pandemic-era supply chain crunch, the tariff factor is forcing renewed creativity in procurement strategies, contract structures, and supplier relationships for electrical professionals.
The broader macroeconomic picture offers little relief. Headline inflation is climbing, the Federal Reserve is unlikely to lower rates soon, and capital spending indicators are flashing caution, notes Chausovsky. Electrical contractors are feeling this firsthand. While nearly nine in 10 said 2024 was a strong business year, fewer expect 2025 revenues to exceed expectations — a steep drop from last year’s optimism. Despite a certain degree of looming uncertainty, the overall market outlook seems bright. Data centers, boosted by artificial intelligence, continue to dominate as the hottest market among Top 50 Electrical Contractors with health care, renewable energy, and education also staying strong. Larger contractors with diversified portfolios and national reach are better positioned to absorb cost volatility and redirect resources into more resilient markets. The industry’s growing embrace of technology — specifically cost and time savings recouped from AI — is also providing efficiency gains and competitive advantages that could counteract some of the cost pressures initiated by tariffs. Based on this year’s Top 50 survey results, it looks like the short-term outlook is one of cautious growth and optimism. Although opportunities are there for the taking, margins will likely remain under strain, and delays may test patience. There’s no doubt that electrical contractors who can stay nimble — sharpening procurement practices, adopting flexible contracts, and doubling down on high-demand sectors — will be better positioned to keep the industry’s growth streak alive.
New hires are at increased risk of making safety mistakes. However, you can take steps to decrease that risk dramatically.
By Mark Lamendola, Electrical Consultant
Safety training is essential to keeping people safe. But it takes many training sessions to cover the necessary instruction and then significant on-the-job experience for it to completely sink in. This poses a problem for new hires.
New employees are typically on a 90-day probation once they start work. This arrangement creates performance pressure that can depress prior safety training, inhibit your new (to them) safety training, and create a bias toward taking shortcuts (versus being “slowed down” by precautions). Ending the use of a probation period isn’t the answer because that would eliminate several key benefits. One of those benefits is the ability to easily fire an employee with a safety-averse attitude.
The solution involves setting the expectations clearly at the outset and reinforcing them regularly throughout the probationary period and beyond. If any employees think their employment is at risk due to not having “high work output,” you’ll see employees sacrificing other important goals to get there. Here are some tips to avoid that:
• Stress that work must be done methodically, correctly, and thoroughly.
• Repeat mantras such as “measure twice, cut once.”
• Keep communicating the message: “We are not a place where there is never enough time to do it right, but always enough time to do it over.”
• Point out that the company expects employees to do their part to
protect themselves from work-related hazards. Thus, we find in NFPA 70E, Standard for Safety in the Workplace, such things as “awareness and self-discipline” [Sec. 110.3(D)].
• A supervisor should accompany the new employee to observe a seasoned employee perform a few steps of a task that involves safety practices (such as setting up a ladder or scissor lift). After the seasoned employee performs a given sequence, the supervisor asks the new hire why that approach was safe and what might have been done differently that would be unsafe. This helps condition the new hire into perceiving safety as integral to the job.
People who understand that their continued employment is contingent upon working methodically and safely
will be motivated to do so. For that motivation to always be there, supervisors and coworkers should be repeating that message not just verbally but also by example. If the new employee doesn’t quite get it, have a conversation about how working methodically and safely improves work quality and reduces costs, such as those from callbacks, rework, and injury-related work interruptions.
New employees may not have the experience with which to properly frame, understand, and incorporate the safety training you normally provide. But you can modify the normal safety training so the learning curve isn’t so steep. Here are some ways to do that:
• Focus on concepts. Details take time to learn, but a person who understands the concepts doesn’t have to remember so many details. Traditional job training and traditional safety training focus on steps, procedures, and processes. Those are all important and valuable to learn, but learning them to the point of proficiency takes weeks if not months. Spend most of the early training time on teaching the concepts, and the details will tend to fall into place.
• Stress the proper order of priorities. Those are: safety first, environment second, work quality third, and work output fourth. Explain the math if there’s any doubt. For example, someone who knocks out 10 projects but gets two callbacks is not nearly as financially beneficial to the company as the person who does nine projects with no callbacks.
• Set clear “get help” limits. Communicate concepts, such as: Nobody expects you to lift really heavy things by yourself or without special equipment. Instead of scoring extra points by doing “he-man” lifting, you might be fired. Check your ego at the door. If you need help, ask. This also goes for not understanding something and consequently reaching out for technical advice. Nobody expects anybody to know everything. The only stupid question is the one you didn’t ask.
• Craft OJT messaging for safety. When assigning a newbie to assist an experienced employee to perform a PM, instruct the experienced employee to use the OJT this time to teach the four priorities rather than the minutiae of how to do that particular task. Those details will come with time, and there is normally a doover possibility if the newbie messes up a minor (non-safety) detail. There is never a do-over if anyone rushes through a job in a way that produces an arc blast, a lethal shock, or a fall from 30 feet onto the concrete.
• Quiz. Make a point of asking the newbie about concepts already covered in training. What are the four priorities and why? What is it we always have enough time to do? When should you ask for help?
A new hire has a lot of new information to absorb. For example, a new maintenance person must learn things like the plant layout, the maintenance shop layout, how to access maintenance resources, the names and functions of production equipment, the names of various operators, the specifics of working your facility’s maintenance procedures, and how to interact with production staff.
Meanwhile, a new hire at an electrical services firm must learn things like the shop layout, how a service van is arranged, what tools and materials will typically be on the van, the names of customer firms and where they are located, the names of customer contacts, the specifics of visiting certain customer sites, and how to interact with customers.
Additionally, all new employees must learn the general reporting structure (including people’s names), the basics of the company policies, the names and personal quirks of their coworkers, and various written and unwritten rules.
Among all of this, you conduct a four-hour safety training session on the new employee’s second day. How much of that do you expect to sink in? A better approach is two-pronged.
The first prong is to conduct a short safety training session for new employees every day. This has long been standard on construction sites, typically via a “safety talk” conducted at the start of each shift. One effect is that it sets a “safety first” tone at the start of the shift. Another effect is that it gives safety information in small, digestible, memorable bites. You get a satisfying drink from the safety coffee mug instead of trying to drink from the safety fire hose.
The second prong is to shorten the recommended retraining intervals. For example, NFPA 70E requires retraining on lockout/tagout every three years [Sec. 110.4(B)(2)(2)]. That is perfectly reasonable for someone who has done a lot of lockout/tagout over the past three years with no known performance issues. Is it reasonable for a new employee whose prior three years of experience you don’t know all that well, and which may have included incorrect lockout/tagout work? And who is also learning all this other new stuff? What
if you had a retraining after three weeks? Or what if you had a weekly retraining along this sort of schedule:
• Week one. This is how we identify energy sources.
• Week two. This is how we coordinate with production.
• Week three. This is how we fill out and hang the tag.
And so on, breaking it down into small, digestible, memorable chunks. After which, the new employee goes through the whole retraining at once, but this time with a solid understanding of each component piece. If you have individual electricians conduct the component training sessions, as opposed to doing that in a classroom, it doesn’t take much time (and you get two people retrained at once). Teaching someone else also teaches the teacher.
By now, you have picked up on some key factors that help a new employee to more quickly be a safe employee. Let’s quickly review them:
• Set the expectations. If people think sheer output is what you want, that’s what you’ll get. You want work that is done right the first time, and done safely every time.
• Focus on concepts. People who understand the concepts don’t need to memorize nearly as many details.
• Repeat the message. Among other benefits, doing this shows the importance of safety. If you keep talking about it, they’ll know it must really matter.
• Break it down into small, digestible, memorable bites. It’s much easier to digest a little at a time than to drink from the proverbial fire hose.
• Retrain right away. This reinforces new information before it gets forgotten.
Don’t be afraid to modify a new employee’s training based on what you observe or the feedback from the new employee or more seasoned ones. The important thing is that this particular new employee is a safe employee sooner rather than later.
Mark Lamendola is an electrical consultant bases in Merriam, Kan. He can be reached at mark@mindconnection.com.
function testing vs. functional testing and understanding the advantages and disadvantages of both
By Jacob Loyd and Mike Wilson, Megger
Testing plays a critical role in verifying that the protection scheme is designed to meet its intended purpose. It ensures the field wiring matches the schematics, and everything works seamlessly.
While engineers and electricians are highly skilled professionals, they are human and can make mistakes. That’s why, during the commissioning process, we meticulously search for errors, knowing full well that they can exist anywhere.
It is imperative to verify cable sizes, color codes, and termination labeling in even the most carefully planned designs to ensure accuracy. Moreover, the creation of precise as-built drawings is crucial for future projects. Without proper maintenance, it becomes increasingly difficult to plan and design upgrades (Photo 1).
In the world of commissioning, function testing involves the manual or electrical manipulation of various components — such as relays, sensors, gauges, and contacts — to verify the presence or absence of electrical signals through the different paths of a schematic. This signal can be verified by picking up or dropping out a downstream device or by using a metering device like a multimeter to measure voltage or current.
Because each device and customer design has unique schematics, creating
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a standard commissioning procedure that ensures point-to-point continuity through an AC or DC circuit can be a complex and meticulous process. As a commissioning engineer gains experience with exposure to schematically testing different devices and designs, they develop an appreciation for the science and art of commissioning.
To illustrate, consider the DC schematic of a breaker trip circuit shown in Fig. 1. The normally open OUT101 contact breaks the positive leg of the 125VDC circuit of a specific component. The circuit breaker’s trip coil is energized by pulsing the OUT101 contact, proving that the signal is passed to a downstream terminal point or device when the contact is closed.
Pulsing the relay contact also verifies the relay contact’s ability to operate from an open to closed position and back again. Note that for simplicity, we have removed the auxiliary contacts that are usually present to provide supervision.
Functional testing is an intricate process that not only checks the relay’s output contact movement from closed to open and back again but also verifies when the contact should operate. To elaborate, consider Fig. 2. We observe that the relay’s OUT104 contact is connected
in series with the 86BF breaker failure lock-out relay (LOR). During function testing, we pulse the output to test the lockout relay’s operation or roll, followed by verifying the contact development to validate the circuits connected with the 86BF LOR.
While function testing involves pulsing the output to confirm the lock-out relay’s operation and validating the contact development to prove the circuits associated with the 86BF LOR, functional testing takes a more comprehensive approach. In this method, we examine the circumstances that could cause OUT104 to operate, such as the trip condition that exists after 18 cycles, typical in programming breaker-failure logic.
This approach allows the trip to be initiated, monitors the secondary current magnitude, and asserts a separate contact to operate a lockout relay that trips adjacent circuit breakers, blocks auto-reclosing, and sends necessary alarms to the station relay terminal unit (RTU). However, testing the operability of the OUT104 contact alone can lead to missing the conditions that must be fulfilled and dictated when OUT104 operates.
Even if the OUT104 contact is properly wired, the wiring diagrams are accurate, and the output is pulsed successfully during commissioning, there is still a chance of missing critical details. For instance, the OUT104 definition could be flawed or dependent on some other bit of logic that might have been inadvertently brought over
from a previous project or an entirely different substation.
As technology advances and protection schemes evolve, testing methodologies must adapt to keep up. Commissioning engineers must ask themselves if their current testing strategies could miss critical details. If the answer is yes, they must make changes accordingly to ensure that the system is thoroughly tested and meets the desired standards.
As commissioning engineers and test technicians, our work often involves testing various devices, alarms, and circuits in newly implemented designs. Sometimes, we are required to do these tests on short notice due to necessary isolations or in-service equipment that could potentially be affected. While this approach may not be the most efficient, it does allow us to make progress while waiting for additional circuits to become available.
Electrical Testing Education articles are provided by the InterNational Electrical Testing Association (NETA), www.NETAworld.org. NETA was formed in 1972 to establish uniform testing procedures for electrical equipment and systems. Today the association accredits electrical testing companies; certifies electrical testing technicians; publishes the ANSI/NETA Standards for Acceptance Testing, Maintenance Testing, Commissioning, and the Certification of Electrical Test Technicians; and provides training through its annual conferences (PowerTest and EPIC — Electrical Power Innovations Conference) and its expansive library of educational resources.
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This twice-a-month e-newsletter delivers the latest trends and information on electrical safety, reports on specific accidents in the field, and provides tutorials and evergreen safety content that can be used for reference and training.
Topics covered include:
• Best practices for safely working on electrical equipment
• Accidents and investigations
• Arc flash
• PPE
• Shock and electrocution
• Fire and security
• Safety audits
See all of our EC&M e-newsletters at www.ecmweb.com
Additionally, it offers greater insight into terminated cables and their potential impact on existing equipment, enabling us to identify and address any issues that may arise. By doing so, we can ensure that the devices, alarms, and circuits in the newly implemented design are functioning optimally and that any potential problems are identified and resolved quickly and efficiently on page 20).
Engineers and technicians should test protection and control circuits as they become available to ensure that all construction and commissioning activities are well-coordinated. This approach allows them to verify the accuracy of issued-for-construction (IFC) schematics and wiring diagrams and identify any discrepancies early on.
Typically, commissioning activities are driven by construction activities, and technicians tend to coordinate their testing based on the availability of electricians to install, form, and terminate cables running from panels. By commissioning circuits as they become available, engineers can ensure that the construction activities are aligned with the commissioning activities and that discrepancies are addressed immediately.
It is important to note that customers often have strict protocols regarding returning equipment to service and completing the required documentation. Since the final protection settings may not be available at the start of a project, it is crucial to test the operation of inputs and outputs, even without actual relay settings. This approach helps engineers identify possible wiring or equipment issues early on that may require replacement, which could have a lengthy lead time. In the case of modifications, these problems can even be latent issues with wiring or labeling that have gone unnoticed for years. By identifying such issues early in the project cycle, engineers can ensure they are addressed while there is still enough time to commission the equipment and avoid any delays.
Ultimately, getting an early start on highlighting or verifying drawings is
critical to submitting as-built drawings on a timely basis. This approach is also essential for ensuring that newly commissioned equipment is placed into service as soon as possible. Commissioning circuits as they become available is an efficient and effective way to achieve these objectives while ensuring that all construction and commissioning activities are well-coordinated.
Testing circuits as they become available has several disadvantages compared to a more structured and coordinated approach. Multiple touches are often required, which can lead to human error and wear and tear of the contact being operated. Lifting terminations during testing can also increase the risk of human error, while the time required for warning others before operating devices in the substation yard or switchgear room can be substantial. Moreover, when a trip or close coil saturates and operates, an arc develops across the contacts as it interrupts the circuit. This arcing causes pitting and degradation of the contact’s life ( Photo 3 ). Therefore, minimizing the number of operations performed on a device, such as a circuit breaker, motor-operated disconnect, or lock-out relay, is crucial to reduce the chances of degradation.
We recommend a more structured approach to testing circuits to achieve overlap in testing procedures while minimizing the number of operations performed on a device. This will reduce the risk of human error and contact wear and tear, ultimately improving the efficiency and performance of the circuit.
For example, if testing a protective scheme on a circuit breaker equipped with a lockout relay, the first relay operation can be verified to trip the lockout relay, which then trips the breaker. Now that the circuit between the 86 and the circuit breaker has been verified as intact and functional, we can avoid additional operations of that breaker by leaving it in the trip state and testing all further trips to the 86, helping prolong the life cycle of the breaker.
Functional testing can be a complicated process, depending on the protection schemes being tested and the affected equipment. Brownfield upgrades often involve in-service equipment and require weeks, if not months, of planning. Protection outages (temporarily disabling specific protection schemes, such as secondary relaying, etc.) can put the power system at risk, and planned station outages may require extensive switching in the field. However, functional testing should not be disregarded without proper documentation and clear communication with the customer.
The advantages of functional testing are numerous. Functional testing not only provides reassurance that the scheme works as intended but also gives the technician a better understanding of the protection scheme. Verifying interoperability with overlapping schemes is critical and should be
investigated thoroughly before placing equipment into service. This reduces the risk of future misoperations and, if coordinated, can minimize the time spent testing.
Ultimately, as engineers and technicians, we should always try to balance technical rigor with speed and efficiency to meet project needs. Rather than being rigidly committed to one way of working, flexibility and openness to new methods allow us to continue to improve. While the most critical elements of the protection system or those with a high degree of dependence on outside interactions are better served by functional testing of the larger system, we can identify discrete elements and functions that can be easily verified inside a smaller test envelope. This efficiency can ultimately give us more time to respond to emergent problems on the project or spend
longer working on the most critical aspects. Isolating some of these discrete elements also allows us to quickly identify some issues and respond earlier in the process, avoiding potential delays late in the project’s life cycle.
There are numerous benefits and advantages to implementing functional testing with function testing when performing commissioning activities. We’ve shown that, given the proper coordination and planning, many normal commissioning activities can be combined to make the commissioning process more efficient. This more holistic approach ensures that each element has been verified against its settings. It can also prove that there are no unexpected interactions with other elements internal to that relay and externally elsewhere in the circuit.
By intelligently applying these combined methods, the work of
commissioning and testing will be made easier, and we can help design and manage the project more successfully by finding issues as early in the project’s life cycle as possible. While there is no one-size-fits-all solution to protection system commissioning and testing, examining our practices and finding opportunities to apply the right techniques at the right time gives us our best chance to be successful and efficient in our work.
Jacob Loyd is a relay applications engineer with Megger’s TSG Group. His responsibilities include providing technical support and training on Megger’s relay test equipment and grid analytics sensors, with particular expertise in the testing and calibration of electromechanical relays.
Mike Wilson is based in Seabrook, Texas, serving as the Houston and South Texas area technical sales representative for Megger.
By Bennie Kennedy, Electrical Consultant
An emergency automatic power transfer system is designed to provide backup power when the normal electrical utility source has been interrupted. Electrical codes require an emergency power source to be designed and installed as an independent system. Typically, a diesel fuel-powered generator is the backup power source.
During an electric utility outage, the power distribution system is required to start the generator and transfer critical loads. When the normal utility source is restored and after a stabilization period, the system reconnects the loads to the primary electric utility source.
Some systems have multiple levels of redundancy, including an automatic control power transfer scheme. A
main-tie-main generator backup power system configuration is most common.
Hospitals, correctional facilities, water treatment plants, data centers, and airports are some good examples of facilities requiring critical power automatic transfer systems.
Electrical codes require periodic testing of these systems for reliability and to uncover any deficiencies in a controlled condition, where, if the emergency supply fails during testing, the loads can be returned to the electric utility source and corrective action taken before an actual outage occurs.
A new multi-story 400-bed hospital in a major city lost electric utility power. The hospital building is served by two electric utility feeders from different substations. A 27/47 relay in the hospital switchboard responded to the outage by transferring critical loads from one electric utility feed to another. The remaining utility feeder was heavily loaded, and the electric utility decided to reduce some of its load on this feeder to prevent a total blackout. However, this resulted in an outage of the remaining electric utility feed.
The hospital’s emergency automatic power transfer system responded by starting its emergency generators. Due to an error in the transfer system’s programmable logic controller (PLC), the system went into auto-fail mode, and
the hospital was plunged into darkness. Fortunately, patient equipment with battery UPS systems allowed some critical life-sustaining equipment to continue to operate.
People were trapped in elevators; one of those trapped was a critical care patient en route from the emergency room to an operating room
where they required immediate emergency surgery. Suction pumps, oxygen, medication, food delivery, HVAC, and fire suppression equipment were all compromised without power. The pneumatic tube system shut down, and a tube containing a blood sample taken from an infant was lost somewhere between the emergency room and the
lab. Finding the tube was a priority, but there was no power to operate the laboratory equipment.
The hospital maintenance staff were overwhelmed. Eight automatic transfer switchboards on three levels were flashing “auto fail.” All had been tested per the manufacturers’ instructions as required within the last 30 days and seemed to be working properly. The electrician confirmed the generator was running and pressed the close button for the generator breaker, but nothing happened. An attempt was made to close the generator breaker at all eight boards, but none would close.
The fire department arrived and was confronted by the fact that the elevators were inoperable. A helicopter landed on the roof to move the critical patients to other facilities. The problem was how to get them to the roof.
Less than half a mile away, a highrise court and correctional facility also lost power because of the same storm. Its backup generator started, and the load transferred. Five minutes later, the generator stopped, and the facility was dark. As required, the system has been tested monthly. The loss of power impacted electronic security and safety systems. Elevators were also inoperable.
The correctional facility’s electrician manually closed the electric utility breaker, realizing the utility source was not available, and proceeded to restart the generator. He then attempted to manually close the generator breaker. It closed and immediately reopened. Because the electric utility breaker was closed, the PLC was tripping the generator breaker to prevent paralleling sources.
Follow-up investigations revealed that maintenance personnel (e.g., electricians) at both facilities were not properly trained. If the electricians had been properly trained, the power could have been restored to critical loads at both facilities.
Power distribution and control system technology has evolved rapidly in recent years. However, the training provided to electrical maintenance personnel has proven to be inadequate. Many of these workers aren’t prepared to effectively
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Today’s electricians must understand and be trained on a variety of topics and technologies such as thermal imaging, zone selective interlocking schemes, power quality and harmonics, trip curves, line isolation monitors, trip unit elements, and ground fault. In addition, all hospital personnel who operate and maintain facility electrical systems must be familiar with the following standards as they apply to health care facilities:
• NFPA 99, Healthcare Facilities Code;
• NFPA 70, National Electrical Code (NEC);
• NFPA 70E, Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace;
• and NFPA 70B, Standard for Electrical Equipment Maintenance. Electrical codes require equipment owners and their employees to perform preventive maintenance, arc flash studies, and equipment-specific training to identify deficiencies under controlled
(like
conditions to assure system reliability. Failure to fully comprehend today’s technology and its practical applications can result in catastrophic equipment failures, leading to disaster.
is a nationally recognized authority on electrical systems/safety with more than 40 years of experience in the electrical industry.
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Contractors must track emerging technologies if they want to thrive in this market.
By Patricia Rizzo, Kenall Manufacturing
Health care lighting exemplifies the intersection of form and function — the integration of attractive lighting systems, non-institutional in appearance, with contoured shapes and advanced technologies that must also adhere to, and perform under, stringent criteria (Photo on page 32).
Health care environments are complex. The requirements for lighting a patient room, an operating room, an MRI suite, or a behavioral health dayroom vary significantly. Across all disciplines, however, lighting dedicated to the health and well-being of those
occupying and working in each of these spaces is paramount. Successful installations are facilitated when contractors take full advantage of the support that lighting system manufacturers provide.
A growing understanding of the effects of light on human biology, as well as the importance of lighting to create healing environments, has fostered interest in lighting systems that provide choices beyond static, traditional white light. With a focus on both patient and staff wellness, the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry and health care facility managers are looking for easy-to-install and
maintain lighting systems that promote healing, while balancing visual and circadian needs. By better understanding the nuances of the health care lighting market and its related technologies, electrical contractors position themselves as true solutions providers.
Thoughtful lighting design can play a key role in patient outcomes. Giving patients some control over their surroundings allows them a degree of autonomy in an otherwise restrictive hospital environment. Luminaire systems that include
shapes showcase advanced technologies: decorative wall-mounted luminaires include tunable white lighting in waiting rooms and corridors to benefit staff and visitors as well as patients looking out onto corridor from their rooms, providing time-ofday cues for circadian support. Luminaires meet stringent criteria for ingress protection (IP) against water and dust and are NSF rated for cleanability against harsh cleaning agents.
a low-voltage controller with dimming option (LVCD) place control in the hands of patients via a pillow speaker, wall switch, or tablet, allowing them to dim or turn off the lights as desired, or raise and lower their motorized shade. This practice has not only been recommended by industry standards (ANSI/ IES RP-29-22: Recommended Practice: Lighting for Hospital and Health Care Facilities), but its benefits are consistently reinforced by positive patient responses.
Studies on the body’s circadian rhythm, its relationship to overall health, and how it is impacted by light are increasingly influencing health care lighting design. Bright days and dark nights promote good sleep and, consequently, better health outcomes.
Unfortunately, many hospital rooms are typically not bright enough during the day or dark enough at night to entrain (or synchronize) the body’s natural rhythm to the 24-hour cycle. In addition to simply being able to alter light levels, light sources with an adjustable spectral composition, such as tunable white light providing correlated color temperatures (CCTs) that range from warm to cool (e.g., 2,700K to 5,000K) or biodynamic technology (containing blue-rich wavelengths similar to those found in daylight), further enhance the patient environment, and support circadian entrainment by providing time of day cues.
Additionally, the change in the quality of light as it transitions from day to night helps prevent the onset of delirium,
especially prevalent in intensive care units (ICUs).
As the design of behavioral health environments continues to evolve, lighting must benefit the diverse needs of populations across a multitude of spaces — from EmPATH units (Emergency Psychiatric Assessment Treatment and Healing), which are behavioral health units embedded in hospital emergency departments, sharing ED resources while providing a calm, therapeutic environment — to outpatient and residential facilities treating a range of diagnoses.
Each facility has lighting requirements that are unique to the diverse population it serves. In addition to supporting patients’ health and well-being, these facilities must also ensure the safety of patients, caregivers, and visitors. For example, luminaires with polycarbonate lenses and tamper-resistant fasteners and frames discourage damage to, and weaponization of, the luminaire. Ligature-resistant lighting — from luminaires to wall switches — removes hard edges and corners from the product, thereby reducing the opportunity for self-harm.
As previously mentioned, health care facilities are difficult places to maintain proper sleep hygiene. The lack of sleep, in many cases, can negatively impact healing, thereby lengthening the
time a patient spends in the hospital. Techniques to support circadian entrain ment, such as modulating intensity from day to night via dimmable lighting, or including the enhanced features offered by tunable white or biodynamic lighting, can help preserve normal sleep/wake cycles and maintain hormonal balance.
In addition to providing daylight and views to nature, recent studies on health, performance, and comfort sug gest that the ability to tune the color temperature of light — or even introduce color changing from pastels to saturated colors, based on application, need, or occupant preference, yields significant benefits. Personal control over room lighting can positively influence mood and support a patient’s feeling of inde pendence, perhaps the most important benefit of all (Photo
In health care projects, the quality of LED lighting products and the service and support provided by the manufacturer cannot be overstated. Forward-thinking manufacturers are continually upgrading and expanding their product lines and incorporating the latest lighting technologies to meet evolving market trends and industry standards. While the products might boast sophisticated engineering, contractors should make sure they are easy to install and maintain. For example, can the electronics be accessed from
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Providing color-changing light to calm or energize an array of diffuse, recessed rounds in varying sizes provide visual comfort for patients as well as architectural interes. Touch control task lights are important elements to give patients personal control in behavioral health environments.
the room side? Can the LED drivers be remotely located for easy access where necessary? What are the mounting styles? If the mounting is unique, does the manufacturer supply the necessary hardware and clear instructions?
There is no planned downtime in patient room occupancy or procedure scheduling in hospitals. Ease of installation is especially important when you don’t want to take a room out of service, particularly one that generates significant revenue, like an operating room (OR), to accommodate a complicated installation. Also, the ceiling/plenum space is often at a premium due to the equipment necessary for medical devices, air filtration, etc., often making access from both the room and plenum sides mission-critical. Plenum access in OR luminaires — where a luminaire provides an access panel to the plenum — can be a desirable feature, albeit one that is easier to install in new construction than in retrofit situations.
To help contractors foster customer relationships when specifying lighting products, it’s important to review manufacturers’ warranties to ensure continued product availability and uninterrupted service. If an intravenous (IV) pole inadvertently hits the lens of a headwall
luminaire, what type of warranty does the manufacturer offer in this situation? Challenges may occur on projects, so it’s key to establish a relationship with the manufacturers’ sales team, as well as access to knowledgeable applications and customer service teams, to help navigate issues ranging from specification and delivery to installation and beyond. Due to long construction cycles in health care projects, the rough-in components may be required months earlier than the finished product. For example, with recessed downlights, housings can be installed during the electrical and wiring phase, while reflectors and trim can be added later. Can the manufacturer provide staggered shipping to accommodate this type of construction schedule?
It is important to not only provide the right light at the right time but also to give both patients and providers control over how that light is delivered. Whether the lighting system is simple or sophisticated, its controls must be easy to use. From on/off and dimming to preprogrammed scenes — according to time
of day or function — hospital staff need the ability to manually execute or override a control when necessary.
Depending on function and intended effect, LED lighting systems specified for health care facilities are typically equipped with the following drivers: 0V-10V for static white correlated color temperatures (CCTs) to enable dimming down to 1% or less; 0V-10V or DALI (Digital Addressable Lighting Interface) for dynamic tunable white systems to allow independent control of CCT and intensity; or DMX for color changing technology such as RGB and RGBW.
Specifiers must determine if the luminaires are designed for seamless integration into a variety of wired or wireless control systems. When comparing manufacturers’ products, controls agnostic solutions that provide the ability to integrate with many compatible control systems on the market, help ensure the luminaires and controls meet specific lighting requirements and budgets.
Many hospitals are now future-proofing their designs via systems that offer patients more control over their environment and care during a hospital stay, which is a positive step in healing and recovery. Hospitals are also integrating
Arlington’s non-metallic Split Wall Plates provide a simple and effective way to accommodate pre-connectorized low voltage cable(s) of varying size and quantity or pre-existing low voltage cables.
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Arlington’s recessed STEEL combination power/low voltage TV BOX® is the best way to mount an LED or Hi-Def TV flush against a wall.
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This e-newsletter tracks the research, development, design, installation and operation of all types of lighting and control products. This monthly product is geared toward professionals working in the industrial, commercial, retail, residential, institutional, health care, government, and utility market sectors.
See all of our EC&M e-newsletters at www.ecmweb.com
Biodynamic spectrum: a light source providing variations in wavelengths that mimic natural light to help humans align their biological rhythms with the day/night cycle.
Circadian rhythm: biological processes that repeat every 24 hours; a familiar example would be sleep-wake cycle.
Circadian entrainment: synchronization of the body’s master clock to the solar day; light is the external stimulus that resets the master clock every 24 hours.
Sleep hygiene: conditions that allow good sleep, such as environment, routine, etc.
Spectral composition: the wavelengths of light that comprise a light source.
smart lighting systems, attractive to patients, staff, and facility management. Remote control options, real-time asset tracking and analysis, and even smartphone apps offer a range of benefits from energy efficiency to convenience to enhancing comfort and performance. From a facility perspective, these systems gather intelligence via sensors that detect and respond to occupancy, execute lighting schedules, and/or integrate into building control/automation systems. From a staff perspective, they are at the highest risk of burnout and should have the ability to adjust light levels to their needs. From a patient perspective, smart systems can be programmed to modulate intensity and spectrum throughout the day to improve sleep quality, reduce stress, and enhance overall well-being.
While specifying the right luminaires during the ordering and quotations process is critical, it’s also important that a manufacturer offers after-sales support. An experienced, committed applications team available to assist with questions regarding the installed products can positively affect both the project and its specifiers’ long-term relationships with the end-users. Enlisting their assistance with product installation, lighting layouts, lumen packages, illuminance calculations, luminaire weights, controls, wiring diagrams, and product modifications, for example, is an important consideration when deciding which manufacturers’ products to specify.
Reputable manufacturers employ field service personnel to support contractors and end-users. These experienced professionals are available to assist with installation questions that might arise on the job site and troubleshoot issues in the field. They can also arrange to have additional components or products shipped directly to the contractor’s facility or job site should the need occur. As such, manufacturer’s field service personnel, intimately familiar with the product and its application, can be a tremendous asset in resolving unanticipated issues efficiently and effectively.
Lighting is essential to any space, but in a health care environment, it is crucial to the patients’ health and well-being — and to hospital staff’s ability to perform critical tasks. With lighting’s aroundthe-clock impact on patients and staff, a manufacturer with experience in this market understands that lighting can impact circadian rhythms, reduce staff errors, and lessen maintenance costs. Engineering luminaires that meet stringent health care standards, are sealed for cleanability and infection prevention, and are easy to install/maintain further solidifies the relationship with contractors and end-users.
Patricia Rizzo is the Senior Healthcare Product Marketing Manager for Kenall Manufacturing. She may be reached at patricia.rizzo@kenall.com.
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Seizing on the data center boom and plowing through elevated uncertainty, EC&M Top 50 Electrical Contractors saw revenues hit a new high in 2024.
In a year that may prove to have been the calm before a storm of disruptions to the economic status quo, the nation’s leading electrical contractors levered an overall favorable construction climate to post revenues of $59.5 billion in 2024, topping last year’s total by 15%.
All but three of the 50 firms that make up EC&M’s 2025 Top 50 Electrical Contractors (see Rankings Table on page 40) — a distinction based on prior year revenues reported in its annual proprietary survey — posted revenue gains for 2024, helping keep a recent string
of record-setting years for the Top 50 alive (see Historical Trends Chart on page 42). Double-digit gains proliferated, several topping 50%, indicative of broad high demand for their services in a building boom taking its cues from a largely strong and resilient economic backdrop and the steady march of nothing short of a revolution in digital technology.
Most Top 50 firms rated 2024 a solid year on several key measures. But it was one in which both persistent and fresh challenges complicated the picture. From labor shortages and
inflated material prices to project design and execution lapses to a lack of clarity on funding and the integration of new technologies, contractors had to again navigate seemingly rising levels of uncertainty and change.
And on that score, there’s likely no light at the end of the tunnel. Moving through early 2025, contractors were expressing some caution about the future, stemming from worries about the impact of a grab-bag of newly or increasingly relevant economic factors, some linked to policy priorities of a frenetic Trump administration: tariffs, trade,
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Fig. 1. The number of Top 50 respon dents that characterized their business climate as “strong” remained steady this year at around 89%.
immigration, interest rates, energy, taxes, regulation and artificial intelligence. See “The Impact of Economic Policy Uncertainty on the Electrical Industry” on page 70.
Generally speaking, contractors said last year was a good one for plying their trade. Nearly nine in 10 judged the 2024 business climate to be a strong one overall (Fig. 1). Robust top-line growth drove that assessment, but more so perhaps, upside surprises. Seventyfive percent of contractors, the highest share in years and 17 points higher than
Perfect for data center remote power panel feeds, panels, equipment feeds and EV Chargers in parking garages, Arlington’s Listed CableStop® Transition Fittings deliver the efficient, cost-effective way to transition feeder cables to 1.25", 2.5", 3" and 3.5" EMT, IMC and RMC conduit in protective drops, risers and feeds to panels and equipment. Our new CableStop fittings integrate our patented, versatile and SKU-reducing 8412 series cable fittings, with Arlington conduit fittings, allowing for easy transitions to larger knockout sizes.
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last year’s Top 50, said their prior-year revenues beat expectations (Fig. 2 ). But the revenue boost, aided by more business to pursue, didn’t change their bid strategies. Like last year, only about a third said they adjusted bids for higher profits (Fig. 3). The year was a good one for many companies, but some say it would have been better if not for creeping uncertainty.
Riding several high-growth construction markets like data centers, energy infrastructure and semiconductors, revenues rose 69% at MMR Group, Inc. (No. 7), Baton Rouge, La. President and CEO James B. Rutland said the company pushed through a cloud of substantial client reticence to spend by staying “disciplined, diversified, and ready to move where our clients needed us most.”
That flexible approach helped the company navigate a business climate it termed only fair. Uncertainty around the presidential election and future policy implications caused many clients and investors to hold off on large-scale capital project spends, says Business Development Manager Matt Allen. “As a result, the market remained cautious throughout the year, with much momentum deferred until after the election cycle concluded.”
E-J Electric Installation Co., (No. 11), Long Island City, N.Y., also
2. The number of Top 50 companies that “exceeded” revenue expectations in 2024 rose drastically this year — going from 57% last year to 75% in the 2025 survey.
powered through obstacles that made for a tougher business climate. Its fiscal year revenues grew 60%, partly through two acquisitions but also from securing large-scale data center and infrastructure projects in new geographies, says President Anthony Mann. The company demonstrated an ability, he says, “to manage complex projects at a national scale” while navigating “labor shortages, material delivery impacts, rising material
Fig. 3. Mirroring last year’s survey results, 59% of companies expected profit margins to stay the same while 36% anticipated greater profits.
prices, tariffs, and occasional project cancellations.”
Little, though, distracted contractors invested in the most active markets, a list indisputably crowned by data centers. Eighty-six percent of contractors put that sizzling market, fueled by the spread of
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The Nestle Coffeemate Plant project required ArchKey Solutions to offer a wide range of technical expertise, custom installation methods, and strict adherence to multiple regulatory standards. Electrical pathways needed to be customized for each of the design areas. The utility block, though comprising less than 10% of the facility’s footprint, accounted for over 40% of the electrical and mechanical workload.
artificial intelligence, on their list of their firms’ three “hottest” markets (Table 1), a 17-percentage point gain from last year and 47 points ahead of this year’s runnerup (manufacturing). Other markets on the hot list again included health care and renewable energy. Education/institution broke into the top five, while power fell out. Big movers on the list included public building (down 11 percentage points from last year); manufacturing (down 10); power (down nine); and pharmaceutical (up seven).
There was some churn in the slowmarket rankings (Table 2), but the top-laggard list stayed mostly constant. Hospitality moved up to the top spot, ahead of private office, retail, education/ institution and oil/gas. Movers included education/institution and oil/gas (each up 12); water/wastewater (up nine); private office (down 11); residential (down 10); and retail (down eight).
Ahead of its spinoff as a separate company from MDU Resources in November, Everus Construction Group (No. 5), Bismarck, N.D., sharpened its focus on key markets. Eleven of its 15 operating companies are electrical contractors, many continuing to double down on markets benefitting from megatrends, such as data centers, grid modernization, and high-tech reshoring. But the newly independent company is also looking to score in a
Table 1. For the eighth year in a row, data center/mission-critical construction snagged the top spot for hottest market. The other leading lucrative markets also mirrored last year’s findings except for water/wastewater, which made its debut.
Table 2. Private office was bumped by hospitality as the coolest market this year. Interestingly, education showed up on both the hot and cold lists in the 2025 survey results.
variety of markets by expanding access to knowledge and experience across its operating units.
“There’s strong demand for specialized expertise in areas like data centers and health care, complex jobs that demand companies with resources and experience,” says Jeff Thiede,
president and CEO. “But we’re diversified and working on cross-training people and sharing resources/best practices to help our companies look at other trending markets.”
An abundance of data center, mission-critical, and water projects just in its own Texas backyard has sharpened
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Fig. 4. When it comes to making revenue projections, responses from Top 50 companies were not nearly as optimistic. Last year, 58% of respondents planned to “exceed” their sales goal for the year; this year, that number dropped to 37%.
the focus of Alterman, Inc. (No. 26), San Antonio. President/CEO Greg Padalecki has moved to solidify its presence in those booming markets, seizing the opportunity to take profitable work that’s seemingly dropping in the lap of qualified firms.
Fig 5. Last year, 70% of respondents expected their company’s revenue to either stay the same or increase. This year, that number bumped up to nearly 80%.
“We’re not battling with competitors over projects like office buildings or hotels as much anymore,” he says. “Now we’re doing projects that aren’t
as sexy, barns full of servers, but there’s a lot of this to go around. If you’re in the MEP space, you’re in the right place these days.”
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Pittsburgh-based Sargent Electric Company (No. 30) is preparing to be nimbler when it comes to targeting markets, says President Rob Smith. Stalwarts, like data centers and utility power, look to have legs, but renewable energy is now an open question. Others (like manufacturing) and, notably, steel, could pop while others more linked to consumer spending trends could be vulnerable.
“It’s making us look more closely at our priorities and flex to where capital spending is occurring,” he says. “That’s not new, but we do expect to do more different work than in the last few years.”
As an example, power plant construction could expand as AI drives power demand, but more might be distributed energy projects utilizing renewable gas or, eventually, nuclear, he says, evidence that “picking winners and losers” may get more challenging.
That changing market for electrical services, coupled with concern and uncertainty about the economy, might be helping temper contractors’ views about business in 2025. In an eye-opening
Fig. 6. Dropping fairly significantly from the 2024 Top 40 survey results, the number of Top 50 companies expecting profit margins to increase in 2025 fell from 44% last year to 30% this year.
shift, the share of contractors expecting revenues to exceed expectations (Fig. 4 on page 48) this year fell 20 points. Last
year, 57% said they thought 2024 revenues would beat expectations; this year 37% thought they would.
Coming as notably more contractors said their revenues surprised last year, the drop suggests many think a sharp change in fortunes could be at hand or at least growing doubt about the prospects for an upside surprise. The smart money may be on the latter because 60% see healthy current year revenue growth (Fig. 5 on page 48) of at least 6% — 10 points above last year.
More evidence of slowdown fears shows up in expectations for changes in bidding and margins. Thirty percent said they thought they’d be adjusting bids for higher profits this year (Fig. 6), down 14 percentage points from last year. Most expect no change.
Houston-based ICS Holding, LLC (No. 45) saw the year start slowly, but later regain some momentum. Fresh off the promise of an injection of capital from a private equity deal in January, its operating companies saw some prospects tapping the brakes in the first quarter.
“All those uncertainties around tariffs, the course of interest rates
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Fig. 7. When asked how they thought the executive order President Trump signed in January 2025, which halted federal agen cies from disbursing Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funding (including monies Congress had already authorized and earmarked for EV charging infrastructure, broadband/telecom, roads and bridges, rail buses, airports, shipping ports, electric grid updates, renewables, and water wastewater work — many of which were already underway) would affect federal construction projects in 2025 and 2026, results were mixed. However, projections definitely leaned more toward a negative impact rather than a positive one.
and funding squashed together with all of the geopolitical backdrop has really led owners to pause,” says Cory Borchardt, CEO. “Not a lot of cancellations, just some delaying, telling us to just be ready.”
Oil and gas projects, a staple of some firms, were “very rocky the first half of the year,” he says, due to tariff and regulatory uncertainty. Manufacturing projects, though, have stayed strong, as have education and healthcare and other markets that offer good prospects for ISC firms that tend to steer clear of megaprojects — those with at least a $1 billion price tag. Such projects, though, are becoming the bread and butter of more contractors, among them MMR. A strong data center market helped it hit the $1 billion mark in current year bookings in May, Allen says, putting it on track for a $3 billion year, well ahead of last year’s $2.3 billion. Building those data centers, and powering them, too, more with on-site generation, is seen supplying long-term opportunity.
“We’ve built relationships with those clients, and that’s maybe the hardest
The Energy Management team at ICS Holding recently completed an LED retrofit for Texas A&M’s MSC Programs department, enhancing energy efficiency, lighting quality, and sustainability. It is another great example of the firmʼs commitment to smart solutions that create better spaces to work, learn, and thrive.
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Following the success of GM’s Detroit Factory ZERO project, Motor City Electric’s engineers, electricians, and project managers were asked to bring their expertise to the Lake Orion Assembly Plant. The site is undergoing major renovation and expansion to prepare for next-generation vehicle manufacturing. The firm’s work ranged from installing new site lighting, conveyors, and power distribution systems to redesigning the emergency power network, upgrading mechanical and utility infrastructure, and expanding production areas.
thing to do,” Allen says. “At the beginning, they didn’t know who we were, but now they know our culture and quality of work and they’re trusting us.”
Prospects for sprawling infrastructure megaprojects, some with big slugs of electrical, looked good during the Biden administration. But the Trump administration acted quickly to gut much of the enabling legislation passed under Biden, leaving the question of critical federal spending commitments hanging.
That’s cause for concern, some contractors say. Slightly more than half agreed disrupting funding through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the Inflation Reduction Act (Fig. 7 on page 52) would have some negative economic impact on federal construction projects this year and next. But a third said it would be only minor, while a quarter expected no impact.
A death blow to the IIJA, in the form of a complete repeal, could
Fig 8. Now that the federal infrastructure funds have been frozen/paused, leaving many projects in limbo, we asked if Top 50 companies expected the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which authorized $1.2 trillion for transportation and infrastructure spending from 2022 through 2026, to be repealed by the current Administration. Nearly 38% were unsure, 32% found it a possibility, and 16% thought it would.
come, and the prospect of seeing $1.2 million for transportation and infrastructure spending through 2026 gone could be unsettling. But most
contractors don’t know what to make of that ( Fig. 8 ); 70% said they were either unsure of its fate or said it was merely a possibility.
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Fig. 9. The number of companies anticipating a significant impact on business from the federal infrastructure legislation funding dropped from 10% last year to 5% this year. This may be a results of the executive order signed by President Trump in January to halt federal agencies from disbursing IIJA and IRA funding.
In terms of their own business, contractors don’t seem to have much riding on the question of federal support for infrastructure. More than a quarter see no impact this year from the IIJA (Fig. 9), up 13 percentage points from last year. But many do report having some stake in it; 68% see a moderate or minor impact this year. Yet those who are now benefitting from federal infrastructure spending may not be heavily invested in its fate. Sixty-five percent placed the boost to new project revenue in 2025 at no more than 5% (Fig. 10).
Growing concerns over funding are a component of the uncertainty that E-J Electric is contending with, but they’re not likely to pose an unmanageable threat, Mann says. Some projects have been cancelled for that and other reasons, but many key infrastructure projects will ultimately find a way to get done.
“Project cancellations are often tied to funding changes either politically or privately within institutions, and shifting federal policies are on our radar,” he says. “The IIJA offers opportunity but also some uncertainty in how funds are allocated regionally. We’re proactively planning across regions, leveraging our
Fig. 10. The percentage of survey respondents anticipating no more than a 5% revenue increase in new project revenue tied to federal infrastructure funds rose from 61% last year to 65% this year.
Fig. 11. Similar to last year’s results, “distribution equipment” and “wire & cable” garnered close to the same number of responses this year as the material type experiencing the greatest increase in price.
Fig. 12. The majority of Top 50 respondents expect an increase of 10% or less when it comes to material price hikes.
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national scale to balance risk and seize opportunities as they arise.”
Threats to the funding stream for future projects are a real concern for contractors. But a more immediate one might be the cost of materials, and the sudden emergence of the tariff issue has only compounded that worry. Thirty-seven contractors said they experienced materials price increases in 2024, down from 40 last year. Those increases were heavily concentrated in wire and cable and distribution equipment, the survey found (Fig. 11 on page 56), and increases were largely in the range of 1% to 10% (Fig. 12 on page 56).
Tariffs may have had some impact on prices last year, but the brunt of it will likely be felt in 2025. It’s hard to quantify now, but at mid-year three-quarters of contractors surveyed (Fig. 13) expected tariffs would have somewhat of a negative impact on their businesses. And if tariffs stick, two-thirds say electrical market material prices are likely to rise moderately in 2025 (Fig. 14).
Tariff uncertainty has compounded the materials price inflation and availability problem that predates the Trump administration, says Sargent Electric’s Smith.
“The reason for project delays is the economics,” he says. “Higher prices for everything — concrete, steel, labor — has caused some reevaluation. If everything has gone up, you’ve got to either put it back in the box or go back and rework it. So we’re seeing more value engineering to take costs out.”
While tariffs and their potential impact are problematic, they aren’t a crisis in the view of Everus Construction Group’s Thiede. He notes the industry had a dry run when the pandemic brought supply chain and cost problems that, while still present, were worked through. Contractors, however, do say delays with materials and logistics remain the top obstacle to getting jobs done ontime and within budget (Fig. 15 on page 60); just edging out “poor design,” 44% say those delays are the chief problem, though that’s down 19 points since last year, indicating progress. Now, with tariffs, it’s time to get creative again.
“How we mitigate this is working daily with our suppliers to try to anticipate pricing, continue monitoring the
Fig. 13. At the time this survey deployed in early June, the U.S. tariff situation continued to be fluid; however, many of the Trump Administration’s harshest tariffs have been paused (and some exemptions have been made). As of June 1, a 10% universal tariff, 25% on cars and auto parts (with some exceptions), 30% tariff on Chinese imports (with some exceptions), and 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico not covered in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) were all active. On May 28, however, a U.S. trade court blocked most of the tariffs in a ruling that found the President had overstepped his authority by imposing across-the-board duties on imports from U.S. trading partners. On May 29, a federal appeals court temporarily paused this ruling, allowing the tariffs to remain in effect until the government’s appeal is considered. If they remain in place, we asked respondents how much of an effect tariffs would have on their electrical business in 2025 and 2026? Nearly 90% of respondents anticipate tariffs to impact their business in a negative way.
to significantly) as a result of newly imposed tariffs.
market and update our costs,” he says. “More cost-plus, fixed price, and master service agreements are needed as well as communication to make sure we’re being proactive in managing risk.”
Tariffs are a new wrinkle in a contractor cost picture that has been dominated by labor. The supply and demand picture for workers has long been imbalanced,
giving contractors a dual problem of rising wages and tighter supply. When asked in the survey to name their greatest business challenge over the next few years, most mentioned something related to labor — shortages, cost, quality, training, recruiting and the like. But the survey offers some signs that pressures may be easing, though labor remains a top concern.
Demand stayed strong in 2024, with 86% saying they added employees
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Fig. 15. Mirroring last year’s survey results, the most pressing issue on Top 50 company’s minds (as it relates to their ability to get a job done on time and within budget) is overwhelmingly “delays with material delivery and logistics” followed by “poor design.”
( Fig. 16 ), up six percentage points. But the share saying they expect to add workers in the current year (Fig. 17) fell 10 points — from 91% in 2024 to 81% this year.
Similarly, the share saying they’re dealing with labor shortage issues (Fig. 18 on page 62) fell 10 points, to 74%. But staying mostly steady was the belief that difficulty finding and retaining quality employees was the factor most comprising growth (Fig. 19 on page 62). Fifty-seven percent checked that as the biggest worry, down only slightly. And a range of key jobs are proving difficult to fill, the single toughest again being electrician, up six points in mentions to 28%, followed by electrical foreman (Fig. 20 on page 64).
Staying fully and competently staffed is challenging Alterman, Inc. Turnover of an increasingly “less tenured” workforce is “off the charts,” says Padalecki, complicating his efforts to fully exploit strong demand.
“It’s not kept us from growing but added challenges,” he says. “We’re managing a younger and what seems to be churning workforce.”
Strong field supervision has become key to managing that deficit, but roles like experienced electrical foreman are also harder to fill. Hiring them has become “almost futile,” Padalecki says, so inhouse candidates are being moved into those slots faster than he might prefer.
Fig. 16. The hiring trend continued with this year’s survey results when it came to employment metrics. Last year, 83% of companies added headcount compared to 86% in this year’s survey.
A shortage of qualified workers is making it harder for Hunt Electric Corp., (No. 18), Eagan, Minn., to pursue all the opportunities it would like.
“There are fewer projects where we feel like we can bring the resources to make it successful,” says CEO John Axelson.
To get more out of its workforce, Axelson says the company is trying to
Number of Employees Expected in 2025 (N=43)
Fig. 17. Last year, 91% of Top 50 companies expected to add headcount; this year that trend decreased slightly, coming in with 81% of firms planning to hire new employees in 2025.
improve labor management, “going further down into the ranks to find people to lead and do a better job of getting them ready for that than in the past.”
Better labor management is also one way Everus companies are addressing labor supply challenges. Thiede says its firms are largely securing the skilled trade workers they need and matching their
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Fig. 18. As has been the case for years, the vast majority of Top 50 companies (74% this year compared to 86% last year) indicated they continue to experience worker shortages. However, the fact that this percentage dropped by a little over 10 percentage points may point to a more positive outlook on recruiting and retaining employees.
labor realities to business opportunities, but the emphasis on securing strong management talent is growing also. Companies are looking for more college-trained people for field supervision, estimating, and project manager roles, Thiede says, and the
Fig. 19. Again this year, “difficulty finding and retaining quality employees” was far and away the most obvious concern on the minds of Top 50 companies followed by “rising material costs.” Interestingly enough, “inflation” was not identified as a concern for Top 50 firms.
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hunt is on for “people with fresh ideas willing to look at things differently.”
With skilled and experienced workers harder to find and keep training has taken on more urgency. The increasing complexity and breadth of electrical work is also a contributor. But contractors may have their work cut out for them wedging technical training into their schedules, so focus areas must be prioritized. Again this year, that’s technology and codes, broadly. Apps and software used in the field, the National Electrical Code, and artificial intelligence were the top choices for training areas most needing support (Table 3).
Ensuring that employees know their way around key information technology tools is increasingly vital. They have been critical to improving productivity and communication, especially in the field through mobile devices, which contractors say have become especially helpful to workers needing product specifications, codes and standards requirements and installation instructions (Table 4).
Specialized apps and software, too, are helping workers bridge the knowledge and experience deficit that has widened. Contractors say they’re most useful, and more so since last year, in project management. Also topping the useful list are time management, labor management and product specs and installation guidelines (Table 5 on page 66).
While technology in the field has come a long way, Borchardt says, ICS still sees adoption and utilization gaps that need to be filled. A workforce trending ever younger will help with that transition, but more focused training on how to best use and apply it will help ensure it infiltrates the company’s work processes.
“The days of the craft worker not needing to rely on some of electronic device are behind us,” he says. “Not enough is being done as an industry to get this training out to the workforce. But it’s not always classroom; we’re finding peer training is key.”
Hunt Electric’s Axelson is hopeful his firm and the industry boost adoption of job site technology. Other industries have moved well ahead of construction on that front, but the gap could close with the help of emerging AI applications.
“There will be continued adoption of new technologies in the field, and it will
Table 3. As has been the case the last three years, “field apps and software” secured the top spot as the most common topic Top 50 employees said they need training support on followed by “NEC changes” and “artificial intelligence.”
Table 4. Again this year, “product specifications,” “Codes and standards,” and “installation instructions” were standouts when it came to information Top 50 firms’ employees were accessing on mobile devices.
help us from a productivity standpoint as it has other industries,” Axelson says.
There’s seemingly no limit to projections about what AI may be able to deliver on the business management front, and that’s evident in Top 50 contractor views. Reported utilization of AI, with 42% saying they’re using it (Fig. 21), is up 18 points. Those in that camp say AI is broadly useful, but especially in marketing/promotion work, efficiency improvement and electrical design (Table 6 on page 68).
“AI is coming fast for us,” says Padalecki. “It’s not going to make the screwdriver turn any faster, but it will enable better workflows. More processes are being automated and it’s helping us identify constraints and gaps in those processes.”
At Sargent Electric, Smith says he’s hopeful AI will deliver on its many promises. For now, it’s helping on the margins with contract reviews and report writing. Down the line it might cut back on labor needs, but it’s too soon to say.
“We’re short of seeing step changes in productivity and don’t see major headcount changes coming from it, but maybe doing more with the headcount we have,” he says.
The strong pickup on AI among contractors might bode well for further technology adoption, an area where construction has lagged. But uptake on two tools that seem a natural fit for helping better merge design and construction for improved project planning and
Table 5. After losing the top spot to “time management” last year, “project management” took back the top spot as the topic most employees are focused on when using apps and software in the field.
Fig. 21. Last year, more than three-quarters of respondents expected artificial intelligence (AI) to become a viable component of electrical design work within the next two years. This year, that number jumped up to 82%.
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Table 6. How are Top 50 electrical contractors using AI? According to this year’s results, “optimizing processes and improving efficiency” was the most common response — the same as last year. However, many are also already using this tool specifically for marketing and promotions, generating, analyzing and optimizing electrical design/BIM, and human resources. Already
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outcomes — augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) — has been halting with no clear trend visible.
This year’s survey reflects that, with reported current VR usage up 15 points to 53% (Fig. 22) and AR usage flat, at 47% (Fig. 23). Half using the tools, though, indicates some commitment, as does concurrence that there’s a range of potential applications.
Collaboration, pre-construction planning and training are seen as top candidates among several for possible AR application (Fig. 24 on page 69). Far fewer this year, though, see client collaboration and accident prevention
Although it’s taken some time to catch on, nearly three-quarters of Top 50 respondents are either already using virtual reality technology or plan to in the next two years.
Already using it
Fig. 23. The percentage of firms already using augmented reality technologies increased slightly this year (from 45% to 47%), suggesting that many firms are incorporating this technology as a viable component in their electrical work.
Fig. 24. These are the top six areas in which Top 50 respondents see their firms incorporating augmented reality technology into their business in the next few years. A new leader, “pre-construction planning” knocked “collaboration with clients” out of the top spot this year.
Fig. 25. These are the top six areas in which Top 50 respondents see their firms incorporating virtual reality technology into the business in the next few years. Again this year, responses were spread out fairly evenly across all of the categories. Based on the results, electrical contractors seem to be using this technology for multiple tasks, but training and collaboration still top the list.
as potential uses for AR. More, though, see it being used for collaboration with other contractors.
For VR, top likely uses are training, contractor collaboration and design modifications (Fig. 25). Accident prevention and product/equipment testing bring up the rear and dropped further in mentions.
Hunt Electric’s chief is cautious about making predictions for both tools
at his firm because so much will depend on the evolution of a critical mass of industry usage. Modeling teams are working with them some and they are showing some potential, Axelson says, but “we haven’t seen adoption with GCs or owners to where it will become as utilized as BIM modeling. Eventually, we may get there.”
At E-J Electric, though, AR/VR is solidly in the mix of technology
aids, helping improve job-site visualization, training, and planning. Mann says both, along with other technologies, are “giving us a competitive edge and allowing us to deliver smarter, faster, and more cost-effective solutions.”
Tom Zind is a freelance writer based in Lee’s Summit, Mo. He can be reached at tomzind@att.net.
As new trade policies and tariffs take effect, electrical businesses must adjust procurement, pricing, and investment strategies to navigate shifting market conditions.
By Alex Chausovsky, Bundy Group
The world is undergoing significant change this year, with new administrations across North and South America, Europe, and parts of Asia driving major geopolitical and economic shifts. The U.S. administration’s policy agenda, in particular, has been a source of much uncertainty and anxiety for both consumers and businesses in recent months.
To reshape the global economy, President Trump has embraced unilateral action on trade, with sweeping tariffs (or threats thereof) being enacted by executive order. This has led to a drop in consumer confidence and business optimism across the globe, both of which have dragged on the economy, slowing growth and making business planning even more difficult than it usually is.
The Economic Policy Uncertainty (EPU) Index aims to capture the level of uncertainty about government economic policies, including potential changes in regulations, taxes, and other developments that could affect the economy. As seen in Fig. 1 on page 71, the EPU Index has been exceptionally volatile since the beginning of 2025, peaking in early April after the “Liberation Day” announcement of robust reciprocal tariffs for all of America’s trading partners. While volatility has persisted in the months since, a declining trend has also emerged, which is a positive sign for businesses in the electrical industry.
What do various political and economic developments such as tariffs, inflation, business optimism, and capital investment mean from the perspective of the electrical industry, and how do they affect the outlook for this unique segment of the economy? To answer this question, one must assess the topics individually in an objective, apolitical, and data-driven manner. The following sections aim to do exactly that.
Tariffs have been the largest source of uncertainty for businesses and consumers so far in 2025. Some clarity has now emerged on what trade deals with many of America’s largest trading partners will look like. Agreements, or frameworks of agreements, with the EU, UK, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and others, plus the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act tax policy roadmap, should alleviate some of the pressure on decision makers in the coming months.
However, tariffs on steel, aluminum, and copper (all critical material inputs for the electrical industry) are already driving meaningful impact on costs, pressuring margins in the electrical industry and many others. The effective tariff rate that importers pay to the U.S. government when importing products into the country will be substantially higher moving forward than it was in 2024 (see Fig. 2). Most estimates have the effective rate settling somewhere between 15% and 20%. As a result, upward inflationary pressure is expected to persist during the second half of 2025 and into 2026.
Headline inflation (as measured by the Consumer Price Index) is already rising, having ticked up from 2.4% in May to 2.7% YOY in June, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The core reading, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, rose 2.9% over the past 12 months. The Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation, the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index, also ticked higher in June for the second straight month, rising to 2.6% above the year-ago level. Excluding food and energy, the PCE price index increased 2.8% from one year
ago. Prices for durable goods (Fig. 3 on page 72), comprising most electrical industry products, rose by the highest amount since January 2023, illustrating the upward momentum in prices felt by companies in the electrical sector.
According to an analysis from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, “the uncertainty shock that hit the U.S. economy in the first quarter of 2025 was historically large, even surpassing the shock associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.” This shock resulted in a significant decline in business optimism in the second quarter
(see Fig. 4). Although it has recovered somewhat since the April low, as of July, the Small Business Optimism Index from the National Federation of Independent Business remains 6% below December 2024.
Core capital goods serve as a leading indicator of business investment. As seen in Fig. 5, these orders declined 0.7% in June, suggesting that companies may be pulling back on spending on equipment and infrastructure. The slowdown is a sign that firms are becoming more cautious with capital investment, in part due to ongoing uncertainty surrounding tariffs and broader trade policy. Rather than committing to new projects, businesses are taking a wait-and-see approach, delaying investment decisions until there is more clarity.
With factory orders showing signs of strain and investment indicators softening,
Index Based on 10 Survey Indicators (Seasonally Adjusted 1986 = 100)
the outlook for the electrical sector in the second half of the year remains uncertain. Unless trade tensions ease and cost pressures abate, capital spending is likely to remain under pressure in
the second half of 2025.
Alex Chausovsky is Director of Analytics and Consulting at the Bundy Group. He can be reached at alex@bundygroup.com.
5. Companies are delaying capital spending until there is more policy clarity.
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By Mike Holt, NEC Consultant
The grounded conductor is typically the neutral, so going forward, we will refer to the grounded conductor as the neutral. The Art. 100 definition for “neutral” conductor was added in the 2008 NEC. It’s the conductor connected to the neutral point (also defined in Art. 100) of a system that is intended to carry current under normal conditions. If you have a 2-wire system or a corner grounded delta system, the grounded conductor would not be a neutral.
The service neutral conductor provides the effective ground-fault current path to the source to remove dangerous voltage from a ground fault by opening the circuit overcurrent protective device (OCPD) [Sec. 250.4(A)(3) and Sec. 250.4(A)(5)].
A premise’s wiring system supplied by a grounded service must have a grounding electrode conductor (GEC) connected to the service neutral conductor per Sec. 250.24(A)(1) through (4):
(1) General. The GEC connection to the neutral conductor at service equipment must be made at any accessible point from the load end of the overhead service conductors, service drop, underground service conductors, or service lateral to the terminal or bus to which the service neutral conductor is connected at the service disconnect (Fig. 1).
Some inspectors require the GEC connection to the service neutral conductor to be made at the meter socket enclosure, while others insist the
Fig. 1. A premises wiring system supplied by a grounded service must have a grounding electrode conductor connected to the service neutral conductor per Sec. 250.24(A)(1) through (4).
connection be made only within the service disconnect. Grounding at either location complies with this rule, but be sure you know the local utility company’s policy on connections inside the meter socket.
(2) Outdoor transformer. If the service supply transformer is outside, you must make at least one additional grounding connection from the neutral conductor to a grounding electrode.
(3) Dual-fed services. For these, you may use a single GEC connection to the tie point of the neutral conductor(s) from each power source.
(4) Service Equipment, Main Bonding Jumper. If the main bonding jumper
specified in Sec. 250.28 is a wire or busbar, you can terminate the GEC to the equipment grounding terminal, bar, or bus to which the main bonding jumper is connected, instead of to the neutral terminal.
A neutral conductor cannot be connected to metal parts of equipment or the equipment grounding conductor (EGC) on the load side of the service disconnect [Sec. 250.24(B)]. If a neutral-to-case connection is made on the load side of the service disconnect, objectionable neutral current will flow on conductive metal parts
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of electrical equipment [Sec. 250.6(A)]. Objectionable neutral current on metal parts of electrical equipment can be extremely dangerous. It does not take much current to cause electric shock or death (from ventricular fibrillation) and a fire.
A “main bonding jumper” is a wire, screw, or busbar used to connect the service neutral conductor to the EGC, supply-side bonding jumper, or both at the service disconnect enclosure [Art. 100].
The main bonding jumper is a vital component of bonding. It facilitates the operation of overcurrent protective devices and is a critical part of the grounding system, since it bonds the neutral conductor, service enclosure, and the EGC to the GEC via the grounding electrode conductor.
A main bonding jumper is required to bond the EGC to the neutral conductor in each service disconnect enclosure per Sec. 250.28 [Sec. 250.24(C)], as shown in Fig. 2.
A service neutral conductor must be:
• Installed and routed with the phase conductors.
• Connected to the neutral terminal or bus at each service disconnect enclosure, regardless of whether line-to-neutral loads are supplied. [Sec. 250.24(D)].
If the neutral conductor is opened, dangerous voltage may be present on metal parts under normal conditions, providing the potential for electric shock. If the earth’s ground resistance is 25Ω and the load’s resistance is 25Ω, the voltage drop across each of these resistances will be half of the voltage source. Since the neutral is connected to the service disconnect, all metal parts will be elevated 60V above the earth’s voltage for a 120V/240V system.
Dangerous voltage from a ground fault will not be removed from metal parts, metal piping, and structural steel if the service-disconnect enclosure is not connected to the service neutral conductor. This is because the contact resistance of a grounding electrode to the earth is so great that insufficient ground-fault current returns to the source if that is the only ground-fault current return path available to open the circuit OCPD.
The service neutral conductor(s) must be sized per Sec. 250.24(D)(1) and (2): (1) Sizing for a Single Raceway or Cable . The neutral conductor cannot
be smaller than specified in Table 250.102(C)(1) [Sec. 250.24(D)(1)].
The neutral conductor also must have the capacity to carry the maximum unbalanced neutral current per Sec. 220.61.
Example Question: What is the minimum size copper service neutral conductor required when the service phase conductors are 4/0 AWG?
(a) 3 AWG
(b) 2 AWG
(c) 1 AWG
(d) 1/0 AWG
Solution:
2 AWG [Table 250.102(C)(1)]
Answer: (b) 2 AWG
(2) Neutral Conductors Connected in Parallel in Two or More Raceways or Cables. If service conductors are installed in parallel in two or more raceways or cables, the neutral conductor in each raceway must be sized per Sec. 250.24(D)(2)(a) or (D)(2)(b).
(a) The neutral conductor in each raceway must be sized per Table 250.102(C) (1), based on the circular mil area of the largest phase conductor in each raceway, but not smaller than 1/0 AWG.
(b) The neutral conductors must be sized based on the sum of the circular mil areas of the largest phase conductors from each set connected in parallel in each raceway per Table 250.102(C)(1).
Note: See Sec. 310.10(G) for neutral conductors connected in parallel.
The grounded conductor of a 3-phase, 3-wire delta service must have an ampacity of at least that of the phase conductors [Sec. 250.24(D)(3)]. The GEC at service equipment must be sized per Sec. 250.66 [Sec. 250.24(E)].
A building supplied by a feeder must have a GEC connected to a grounding electrode system per Part III of Art. 250 [Sec. 250.32(A)], as shown in Fig. 3. Exception: A grounding electrode system and GEC is not required for a building if it is supplied by a single branch circuit or multiwire branch circuit.
The metal parts of the building disconnect must be connected to the feeder EGC of a type described in
Sec. 250.118(A) [Sec. 250.32(B)(1)]. Where the supply circuit EGC is of the wire type, it must be sized per Sec. 250.122.
To prevent dangerous objectionable neutral current from flowing on metal parts [Sec. 250.6(A)], you cannot connect the supply circuit neutral conductor to the remote building disconnect metal enclosure. [Sec. 250.142(B)].
Exception 1: The neutral conductor can serve as the ground-fault return path for the building disconnect for existing installations where there are no continuous metallic paths between buildings and structures, ground-fault protection of equipment is not installed on the supply side of the circuit, and the neutral conductor is sized no smaller than the larger of:
(1) The maximum unbalanced calculated neutral load per Sec. 220.61.
(2) The minimum EGC size per Sec. 250.122.
The GEC must terminate to the equipment grounding terminal of the disconnect (not the neutral terminal) and must be sized per Sec. 250.66 [Sec. 250.32(E)].
Example Question: What size copper GEC is required for a building disconnect supplied with a 3/0 AWG feeder with a concrete-encased electrode?
(a) 4 AWG
(b) 2 AWG
(c) 1 AWG
(d) 1/0 AWG
Answer: (a) 4 AWG
Note: If the GEC is connected to a concrete-encased electrode(s), the portion of the conductor that connects only to the concrete-encased electrode(s) is not required to be larger than 4 AWG copper [Sec. 250.66(B)].
If the GEC is connected to a rod(s), the portion of the conductor that connects only to the rod(s) is not required to be larger than 6 AWG copper [Sec. 250.66(A)].
Don’t confuse the neutral (grounded conductor) with a GEC (one used to extend the ground connection) or a bonding jumper (one that puts metallic objects at zero potential from each other). The neutral carries the unbalanced current, and you don’t want to conduct that current through enclosure bodies or along the outside of raceway.
These materials are provided by Mike Holt Enterprises in Leesburg, Fla. To view Code training materials offered by this company, visit www.mikeholt.com/code.
By Mike Holt, NEC Consultant
All questions and answers are based on the 2023 NEC.
Q1: In information technology rooms, the remote disconnect controls shall be located at approved locations that are in case of fire to authorized personnel and emergency responders.
a) accessible
b) readily accessible
c) secured
d) restricted
Q2: For circuit sizing calculations of PV systems without adjustment and/or correction factors, the minimum conductor size must have an ampacity not less than the maximum currents calculated in Sec. 690.8(A) multiplied by
a) 75% c) 125%
b) 100% d) 150%
Q3: Interior metal water piping that is electrically continuous with a metal
underground water pipe electrode and is located not more than from the point of entrance to the building, as measured along the water piping, is permitted to extend the connection to an electrode(s).
a) 2 ft c) 4 ft
b) 3 ft d) 5 ft
Q4: Receptacles mounted in boxes flush with the finished surface or projecting beyond it shall be installed so that the mounting yoke or strap of the receptacle is held rigidly against the
a) box or box cover
b) faceplate
c) finished surface
d) bonding connection
Q5: Where ungrounded supply conductors are paralleled in two or more
raceways, the supply-side bonding jumper for each raceway shall be based on the size of the in each raceway.
a) overcurrent protection for conductors
b) grounded conductors
c) largest ungrounded supply conductors
d) sum of all conductors
Q6: No conductor shall be used where its temperature exceeds that designated for the type of insulated conductor involved.
a) operating
b) ambient
c) highest
d) lowest
See the answers to these Code questions online at ecmweb.com/55312141.
By Russ LeBlanc, NEC Consultant
All references are based on the 2023 edition of the NEC.
That black “blob” all over the mounting bracket of the luminaire is tape. The metal bracket is broken, and if it weren’t for the tape holding everything in place, the luminaire would be dangling upside-down by the circuit wires.
While the tape seems to be doing a pretty good job at the moment, I’m not sure that holding a luminaire up using tape meets the intent of Sec. 410.30(A), which requires luminaires and lampholders to be securely fastened. I’m also not sure how long tape will be able to withstand the extreme cold of New England’s winters or the heat of summer repeatedly. Repairing or replacing the broken mounting bracket would be the best option to ensure a long-lasting installation.
One other problem I spotted here is the NM cable poking out of the building just above the luminaire. This cable is then laid across the roof. NM cable cannot be installed in this outdoor location. NM cable is neither sunlight-resistant, as required by Sec. 300.6(C)(1), nor is it permitted in damp or wet locations, as specified in Sec. 334.12(B)(4). Lastly, the apparent lack of any supporting and securing of the NM cable is a violation of Sec. 334.30.
No, this is not a buried treasure. Well, for me, it was a treasure of Code violations I could write about.
How are we supposed to use the receptacles installed in this upside-down box? Opening the cover is not an option unless we dig through the dirt and clear it out. Even if we did that, the cover in this position is never going to provide a weatherproof enclosure as required by Sec. 406.9(B)(1).
The upside-down cover is not installed or used correctly. This violates the requirements of Sec. 110.3(B). I would say it is questionable at best as to whether the wiring and devices installed in this box are accessible without excavating the earth as required by Sec. 314.29(B). As for the box support, is the earth the only support for this box? Or is there some post, brace, or conduit underground providing the supports required by Sec. 314.23? That remains a mystery, since I did not take it upon myself to dig in this public area to investigate further — although my curiosity almost pushed me to do so.
Arlington Industries, Inc. 28, 29
800-233-4717
www.aifittings.com
Arlington Industries, Inc. 31 800-233-4717 www.aifittings.com
Arlington Industries, Inc. 33 800-233-4717 www.aifittings.com
Arlington Industries, Inc. 35 800-233-4717 www.aifittings.com
Arlington Industries, Inc. 37 800-233-4717 www.aifittings.com
Arlington Industries, Inc. 41 800-233-4717 www.aifittings.com
Arlington Industries, Inc. 43 800-233-4717 www.aifittings.com
Arlington Industries, Inc. 45
800-233-4717 www.aifittings.com
Arlington Industries, Inc. 47 800-233-4717 www.aifittings.com
Arlington Industries, Inc. 49 800-233-4717 www.aifittings.com
Arlington Industries, Inc. 51 800-233-4717 www.aifittings.com
Arlington Industries, Inc. 53 800-233-4717 www.aifittings.com
Arlington Industries, Inc. 55 800-233-4717 www.aifittings.com
Arlington Industries, Inc. 57 800-233-4717 www.aifittings.com
Arlington Industries, Inc. 59 800-233-4717 www.aifittings.com
Arlington Industries, Inc. 61 800-233-4717 www.aifittings.com
Arlington Industries, Inc. 63 800-233-4717 www.aifittings.com
Atkore IFC www.atkore.com
BaseTek, LLC 20 877-712-2273 www.basetek.com
Champion Fiberglass, Inc. 80, BC championfiberglass.com
Code Change Conference 27 codechangeconference.com
Copperweld 25 615-377-4200 www.copperweld.com
EASA - Electrical Apparatus Service Association 26 314-993-2220 www.easa.com
Engelbert Strauss, Inc. INSERT 310-425-1100 www.strauss.com
Facilities Expo 2025 67 www.facilitiesexpo.com
Griplock Systems, LLC 20 805-566-0064 www.griplocksystems.com
Intermatic, Inc. 15 www.intermatic.com
Mechanical Ingenuity Corp. 24 www.wavecrestpower.com
Mike Holt Enterprises 65 888-632-2633 www.mikeholt.com/Ultimate
Milwaukee Tool Corporation 9 www.milwaukeetool.com
Orbit Industries, Inc. 13 213-451-6091 www.orbitelectric.com
Progressive Insurance 11 progressivecommercial.com
Southwire Company IBC www.southwire.com
SP Products Inc 7, 23 800-233-8595 www.spproducts.com
supplyhouse.com 17 www.supplyhouse.com
The Home Depot - Corporate 3 www.homedepot.com/c/pro
Underground Devices 5 847-205-9000 www.udevices.com
Wayne J. Griffin Electric, Inc. 80 800-421-0151 waynejgriffinelectric.com
Westlake Pipe & Fittings 21 www.westlakepipe.com/ecm
(Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of this index. However, the publisher cannot be held responsible for errors or omissions.)
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By Russ LeBlanc, NEC Consultant
How well do you know the Code? Think you can spot violations the original installer either ignored or couldn’t identify? Here’s your chance to moonlight as an electrical inspector and second-guess someone else’s work from the safety of your living room
or office. Can you identify the specific Code violation(s) in this photo? Note: Submitted comments must include specific references from the 2023 NEC.
Hint: The installers forgot to install a few things.
Using the 2023 NEC, correctly identify the Code violation(s) in this month’s photo — in 200 words or less — and you could win a $25 Amazon gift card. E-mail your response, including your name and mailing address, to russ@russleblanc.net, and Russ will select one winner (excluding manufacturers and prior winners) at random from the correct submissions. Note that submissions without an address will not be eligible to win.
Our winner this month was Devin Rhea Dillion with the Virginia Department of Transportation. He was able to cite some Code violations in this photo.
Where are the other parts of the covers for these outdoor receptacles? It appears that they snapped off at some point
and were never repaired or replaced. The missing cover parts leave these GFCI receptacles exposed to rain, snow, sleet, ice, dirt, and anything else Mother Nature can throw at them.
The types of covers originally installed here appear to be a “weatherproof when closed” design. These covers would not comply with Sec. 406.9(B)(1), which requires the enclosure to be weatherproof whether or not an attachment plug cap is plugged into the receptacle, unless the provisions of the exception allow “weatherproof when closed” covers.
I’m fairly certain that routine spray-washing does not occur in this area, which is adjacent to a public sidewalk; therefore, the exception would not be applicable. This may not have ever been a Code-compliant installation. One last item is the lack of an expansion fitting where the PVC conduit emerges from the ground. This requirement was added to Sec. 352.44(B) for 2023.
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