510 R.I. Code R. 510-RICR-00-00-5.3
Delete all references to NEC and substitute Rhode Island Electrical Code SBC-5-2021.
Delete all reference to any other International Code (IBC, IRC, IMC, etc.) and refer to appropriate SBC regulations. (See Amendment 2701.6 of SBC-1-2021, (Part 1 of this Subchapter)
NFPA 70-2018 may also be referenced as NEC 2020 and are one and the same document.
The installation of all work shall be accomplished by persons licensed by the State of Rhode Island, Department of Labor and Training, Division of Professional Regulation of Electricians, R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 5-6 and Telecommunications, R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 5-70.
The authority having jurisdiction may waive specific requirements in this Code or permit alternate methods where it is assured that equivalent objectives can be achieved by establishing and maintaining effective safety.
This Code may require new products, constructions, or materials that may not yet be available at the time the Code is adopted. In such event, the authority having jurisdiction may permit the use of the products, constructions, or materials that comply with the most recent previous edition of this Code adopted by the jurisdiction.
To promote uniformity of interpretation and application of the provisions of this Code, formal interpretation procedures have been established and are found in the NFPA Regulations Governing Committee Projects.
Formal interpretations issued by the NFPA are advisory in nature and are not binding on the local authority having jurisdiction unless reissued as a formal opinion by the State Building Code Commissioner.
The provisions of Chapter 27 of SBC-1-2021, Part 1 of this Subchapter, are herein incorporated by reference and are considered part of this code.
Except as modified by the authority enforcing this Code, plans, specifications, schedules and calculations in sufficient detail shall be filed with the authority enforcing this Code, showing the location, and capacity of all lighting facilities, and all electrically operated equipment including power circuits required for all electrical service equipment of the building or structure. Details shall include available fault current at each protective device. Details shall include showing all raceways, cables and or circuiting on plans.
Delete 110.14(D).
Informative Annexes A, B, C, D, F, G and I may be used and are included for informational purpose only.
Informative Annex E refers to construction types in NFPA 220 which do not correlate directly with construction types and hourly ratings specified in Part 1 of this Subchapter. Refer any questions to the building code authority having jurisdiction.
Informative Annex H is deleted. See the provisions of R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 23-27.3 for administration and enforcement provisions.
Revise section 210.25 as follows:
For the purpose of R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-28.1-2(b)(2)(i) and 450-RICR-00-00-8.1.25 of the Rhode Island Fire Safety Code Section 8 of the Rhode Island Life Safety Code, the requirement of NEC 2020 section 210.25 shall be amended as follows:
Section 210.25 Branch Circuits in Buildings with More Than One Occupancy.
Informational Note: See R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-28.1-2(b)(2)(i) and § 450-RICR-00-00-8.1.25 of the Rhode Island Fire Safety Code Section 8 of the Rhode Island Life Safety Code for requirements regarding the Installation of Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarms.
Substantiation: R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-28.1-2(b)(2)(i) has been adopted by the General Assembly. This statute directed the State Fire Board to provide reasonable standards for the installation of smoke and carbon monoxide devices in all existing three (3) family dwellings. The deadline for such installation was set to be on or before July 1, 2008. The Fire Safety Code Board of Appeal and Review then developed and implemented the above-referenced standards as § 450-RICR-00-00-8.1.25 of the Rhode Island Fire Safety Code Section 8 of the Rhode Island Life Safety Code. These further Regulations directed compliance with the State Building Code and both NFPA 72 and 720.
Serious questions arose as to installation methods. It was determined that Part 5 of this Subchapter section 210.25 required that these devices, located in the common areas of the three (3) family building, would not be allowed to draw power from a dwelling unit. This led to the initial unanticipated expense of installing a separate electrical meter in the building. A second unanticipated expense resulted from compliance with the electrical service provider's standing policy that new meters could only be installed on the exterior of the building. Accordingly, the owner of an existing three (3) family house could now incur thousands of dollars in unanticipated additional expenses for the installation of Smoke and CO devices that were originally anticipated to cost far less.
This amendment is limited to those owners of three (3) family dwellings who are simply complying with the provisions of R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-28.1-2(b)(2)(i) and § 450-RICR-00-00-8.1.25 of the Rhode Island Fire Safety Code Section 8 of the Rhode Island Life Safety Code. Any such owner who utilizes this amendment is advised that his or her failure to maintain the electrical power to the Smoke and CO devices located in his or her three (3) family dwelling will result in a violation of the State Fire Code and subject the above owner to fines of five hundred dollars ($500.00) a day under the provisions of R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-28.3-9.
Delete section 230.24(A) Exception No. 5.
Substantiation for deletion of section 230.24(A) Exception No. 5
This exception to the 2020 National Electrical Code (NEC) will permit overhead service conductors with a vertical clearance of not less than three feet (3') to pass over the surface of a flat roof, if the roof area is guarded or isolated. The justification for this exception was to correlate the NEC with allowances in the National Electrical Safety Code (NESC). Currently, the NESC allows conductors to be a minimum of nine hundred millimeters (900 mm) (three feet (3')) above the roof, if the area is guarded or isolated. However, this justification is flawed, because the NEC applies to installations on the load side of the service point and the NESC applies to installations on the supply side of the service point.
Section 230.24(A) applies to Overhead Service Conductors, which are defined in the NEC as the overhead conductors between the service point and the first point of connection to the service-entrance conductors at the building or other structure. Service-Entrance Conductors of an overhead system are defined in the NEC as the service conductors between the terminals of the service equipment and a point usually outside the building, clear of building walls, where joined by tap or splice to the service drop or overhead service conductors. Clearly, under these definitions, overhead service conductors are within the scope of the NEC and not the NESC.
It is the opinion of this committee that when conductors pass over roof surfaces other than those addressed in Exceptions 2, 3, and 4, the minimum vertical clearance of not less than two and one half meters (2.5 m) (eight feet (8')) should be maintained, because guarding and isolation in locations that are not under the exclusive control of the utility will not provide equivalent safety as currently allowed in Exceptions 2, 3 and 4. As an example: The flat roof of a strip mall that is enclosed by a fence, with a locked gate is considered "isolated." Equipment such as HVAC and CATV is mounted on the roof and those servicing this equipment have access (a key) to the roof and may come in contact with the conductors.
If the NEC Technical Committee CMP-4 feels the need to correlate these documents, modifications should have been made to the less restrictive NESC and not the NEC.
Conductors installed and maintained by the electric utility on the supply side of the service point are beyond the scope of the NEC. The NESC applies to utility work and its requirements are different from those of the NEC because these installations are fundamentally different than those for premises wiring. And the three elements that make that so are is that the utility has exclusive control, restricted access and qualified persons maintain the installation.
METER DISCONNECT NOT SERVICE EQUIPMENT
Informational Note: This Rule does not specify whether the meter disconnect is on the line or load side of the meter because either side is acceptable and will be governed by the policies of the serving utility.
Substantiation:
The proposed amendment to section 230.82, which is the same as a Massachusetts amendment was to address meter disconnects. These disconnects are required by some utilities, because of the greater safety they provide for their service personnel. They are installed either "hot sequence" (meter ahead of the switch) or "cold sequence" (switch ahead of the meter). Section 230.82(3) of the Code addresses meter disconnects on the supply side of the service disconnect, but the problem is when these meters disconnects are installed the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) is treating it as a service disconnecting means. This interpretation invokes all the rules for services including the need for a grounding electrode at the metering location and the classification of the conductors supplied by the switch as feeders and not a continuation of the service conductors. As a feeder an additional conductor would be required to be run to the building and a grounding electrode installed at the meter/disconnect means location. When the meter and disconnect means is a distance from the building being served, which is often the case, an additional electrode that meets code would accomplish very little in terms of safety, since there would be no electrical loads at the remote metering point. It would be like requiring a grounding electrode conductor to be brought to every conventional meter socket.
This proposed amendment would require that the disconnect means be legibly field marked as a meter disconnect, be capable of interrupting the load served and have a short-circuit current rating not less than the available short-circuit current. The amendment will also require the meter disconnect to be grounded in accordance with Part VII and bonded in accordance with Part V of Article 250. Most importantly this amendment will clarify the purpose of this disconnect means and establish the rules for their installation.
510 R.I. Code R. 510-RICR-00-00-5.3
Amended effective 2/1/2022