As part of its ongoing focus on electrical safety, Mike Holt Enterprises annually updates its report that assigns a grade to U.S. states for mandated electrical standards. How does your state rank (see Chart)?
The following criteria are all required at the state level for points to be assigned for this report:
• The NEC edition adopted (current = 2017 NEC issued on Aug. 4, 2016).
• Licensing and/or certification required for apprentice, journeyman, master/contractor, inspector, and engineer licenses.
• Continuing education (CEU or PDH) required for license renewal.
The following criteria are not included in the report:
• County and municipality adoptions. There are many local adoptions, and, in many cases, county and municipalities adopt the most recent building and electrical codes ahead of their state. The scope of anything other than statewide-mandated requirements is beyond this report.
• Enforcement or effectiveness. Currently, there is no way to track or correlate enforcement as it relates to rates of incidents or accidents.
The Table shows the rankings. If there is a green up arrow next to the state name, it indicates an improvement in grade over the last five years from 2014 to 2018; a down red arrow indicates a decline. Note: All 12 points are required for an A+ grade.
Visit Mike Holt Enterprises for report updates and to see details on how grades are calculated.
About the Author
Mike Holt
Mike Holt is the owner of Mike Holt Enterprises (www.MikeHolt.com), one of the largest electrical publishers in the United States. He earned a master's degree in the Business Administration Program (MBA) from the University of Miami. He earned his reputation as a National Electrical Code (NEC) expert by working his way up through the electrical trade. Formally a construction editor for two different trade publications, Mike started his career as an apprentice electrician and eventually became a master electrician, an electrical inspector, a contractor, and an educator. Mike has taught more than 1,000 classes on 30 different electrical-related subjects — ranging from alarm installations to exam preparation and voltage drop calculations. He continues to produce seminars, videos, books, and online training for the trade as well as contribute monthly Code content to EC&M magazine.