Rhode Island Code of Regulations › Title 510 - Building Code Commission › Chapter 00 - N/A › Subchapter 00 - N/A › Part 5 - RISBC-5 Rhode Island Electrical Code › Section 510-RICR-00-00-5.3 - General

Current through June 14, 2024
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.
5.3.1
ARTICLE 90
90.1 Add the
				 following to section 90.1:
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.
90.4 Delete section 90.4 and
				 substitute the following:
90.4
				 Enforcement. This Code is intended to be suitable for mandatory application by
				 governmental bodies that exercise legal jurisdiction over electrical
				 installations and for use by insurance inspectors. The Committee shall have the
				 responsibility for deciding upon the approval of New Materials and Methods of
				 Construction in accordance with Part 12 of this Subchapter. The Commissioner
				 shall have the responsibility to issue official interpretations in accordance
				 with Part 10 of this Subchapter. The authority having jurisdiction will have
				 the responsibility for granting special permission contemplated in a number of
				 the rules.
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.
90.6 Delete section 90.6 and substitute the
				 following:
90.6 Formal
				 Interpretations.
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.
90.10 Add the following new
				 Article 90.10:
90.10 Other
				 Provisions.
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.
110.2 Add the
				 following new paragraph after the Informational Note:
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.
a. Dwelling Unit Branch
				 Circuits. Branch circuits in each dwelling unit shall supply only loads within
				 that dwelling unit or loads associated only with that dwelling unit.
b. Common Area Branch Circuits. Branch
				 circuits installed for the purpose of lighting, central alarm, signal,
				 communications, or other purposes for public or common areas of a two (2)
				 family dwelling, a multifamily dwelling, or a multi occupancy building shall
				 not be supplied from equipment that supplies an individual dwelling unit or
				 tenant space.
c. Common Area Branch
				 Circuits of Existing Three- Family Dwellings. Branch circuits installed for the
				 purpose of associated smoke and carbon monoxide detection required for three
				 (3) family dwellings located in the common areas of a three (3) family dwelling
				 shall be permitted to be supplied from equipment that supplies an individual
				 dwelling unit. Written documentation shall be supplied that there will be no
				 interruption in service to said common area smoke and carbon monoxide devices.
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.
d. Modifications to Existing
				 Electric Service. When the electric service to a three-family dwelling with
				 branch circuits installed in accordance with section 210.25(C) is upgraded, or
				 an electric meter is added for any other purpose, said property shall comply
				 with sections 210.25 (A) and (B).
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.