NATIONAL ELECTRIC CODE

By Josh Filler, Vice President & Chief Operating Officer - Electric Operations

In August 2023, the State of Ohio passed legislation under Ohio Administrative Code 4101:1 that effectively enacted the National Electric Code (NEC) 2023 (NFPA 70) into law within the State of Ohio. The National Electric Code is reviewed by the National Fire Protection Association every three years. Due to COVID-19, the NEC 2020 code was not adopted, and, therefore, Ohio jumped from the NEC 2017 to NEC 2023. The certification of NEC 2023 took effect on April 15, 2024.

SERVICE INSTALLATIONS

You may be wondering why my article covers the National Electric Code this month. The fact is that NEC 2023 now has an impact on service installations within Ohio. The largest of those that impact the utility/ member interconnection is NEC article 230.85, which establishes the requirement of an emergency disconnect on one, two and three-family dwellings. This is to assist emergency personnel in de-energizing electric service to residences in the event of an emergency.

This applies to all new residences and those upgrading or replacing anything but the meter base or service entrance conductors. If you plan on replacing your main breaker panel, you will need to bring your service up to this new code and install an emergency or service disconnect on the outside of your home.

ARC-FAULT CIRCUIT-INTERRUPTER PROTECTION

Another significant change taking effect is the requirement to install Arc-Fault Circuit-Interrupter (AFCI) protection on most living spaces within a residence (dwelling). This section was removed from code via the Ohio Administrative Code in the past but is now included in the Residential Code of Ohio. This protection is typically done within an AFCI breaker within the main panel. The purpose of the AFCI is to detect arcing on a branch circuit and interrupt, or trip, the breaker. Arcing is typically an indication of a fault that is electrically arcing to ground or a neutral. The AFCI provides a level of fault detection that can avoid a fire hazard.

Many other changes took effect regarding installation on the members’ side of the meter, so be sure to check out some of the other changes that may affect your new or existing residence.

The changes that affect the interconnection between you and The Energy Cooperative are now reflected in our installation specifications, which can be found at www.myenergycoop.com/document-library.