2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 87 - Board of Examiners of Expert Electricians (§§ 2701 — 2722) › § 2722 - Authorized electrical installations; penalties

Every public or private service company:
(a) Shall only approve and supply electric power service to electric installations made or supervised by a collegiated electrical engineer or expert electrician, duly authorized by law, and which comply with the National Electric Code in effect, the Puerto Rican Electric Code and the regulations promulgated by the public or private company in charge of supplying electric power. Provided, That the collegiated engineers and expert electricians shall certify the execution of the electric installations through an official document to such effects filed before the public or private service company. Nothing provided herein shall limit the power of the company supplying the power service to inspect or reinspect public or private works by means of their employees, whenever they deem it necessary for the service they are providing.
(b) The information required in this official document shall be provided by the public or private service company in coordination with the Examining Board of Engineers, Architects and Surveyors, the Examining Board of Expert Electricians, the College of Engineers and Surveyors and the College of Expert Electricians. The original document shall be remitted to the public or private service company, the first copy shall be remitted to the consumer and the second to the collegiated engineer or expert electrician.
Any natural or juridical person who performs electrical work without being duly authorized therefor by the Board of Examiners of Expert Electricians and who is not a member of the College of Master Electricians, or who employs persons not authorized by this chapter therefor, or who supervises the same, shall incur a misdemeanor and upon conviction, shall be punished with a fine of not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000), nor more than five thousand dollars ($5,000), or imprisonment for a period that shall not exceed six (6) months, or both penalties, at the discretion of the court. In cases of a repeated offense the fine shall not be less than two thousand dollars ($2,000), nor more than five thousand dollars ($5,000).
The Secretary of Labor and Human Resources, the Secretary of Justice, the College of Expert Electricians, the Examining Board and the Firefighters Corps of Puerto Rico, the Electric Power Authority, or any other entity agency thus affected in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico may file an injunction proceeding, pursuant to the laws that govern these procedures, against any person engaged in the practice of the profession of expert electrician without holding a license to do so. Provided, That the injunction action provided herein shall not release the violator from criminal prosecution for the crime of illegal practice established in this section.
(c) In every case that the Electric Power Authority determines that an expert electrician altered a meter, installation, or electric power system in order to prevent the correct measuring of electric power consumption, and/or made an installation designed to prevent the correct measuring of electric power consumption, it shall immediately refer such evidence and/or documentation to the Board of Examiners of Expert Electricians and the College of Expert Electricians. If, upon completion of the disciplinary procedure, the Board of Examiners of Expert Electricians validates the conduct alleged by the Electric Power Authority, it shall revoke such person’s license as an expert electrician for a minimum term of three (3) years. In case of recurrence, such license shall be revoked indefinitely and the holder of the revoked license shall not be entitled to apply for a new license for a term of five (5) years. The Board of Examiners of Expert Electricians shall conclude the disciplinary procedure within six (6) months as of receiving the referral, unless there is just cause. Any expert electrician who, after the revocation his/her license, continues to carry out expert electrician work illegally shall be imposed the sanctions determined in the second paragraph of subsection (b) of this section.
History —June 2, 1976, No. 115, p. 334, § 22; June 12, 1980, No. 123, p. 443, § 11; renumbered as § 23 on Mar. 7, 1983, No. 4, p. 9, § 2; June 1, 1984, No. 46, p. 122, § 11; Apr. 3, 1987, No. 12, p. 28; Nov. 6, 1992, No. 86, § 11; Sept. 13, 2007, No. 117, § 1; Dec. 11, 2011, No. 238, § 2.