Keep an Eye Out for Counterfeits
from Plant Services
In 2008, the United States Customs Office reported on seizures of counterfeit products. The document claims that counterfeit electrical products are in the top five categories, seizures were 43 percent greater than 2007, and most of the fakes came from China and Hong Kong. But as you’ll read, fake electrical products aren’t the end of the story. More

Follow-up: Indiana Plays with Fire by Diluting Electrical Code
from the Indianapolis Star
According to this op-ed piece written by Brett Brenner, president of the Electrical Safety Foundation International, the Indiana Fire Prevention and Building Commission recently did Indiana residents a great disservice by deleting a nationally recognized safety requirement from the state's electrical codes. So what does this decision mean for Indiana homeowners? More

Electrical Coalition Launches 'Just Don't Ask' Safety Campaign
from Occupational Health & Safety
The Electrical Safety Coalition of Ontario, Canada, along with its partners, unveiled a unique electrical safety campaign aimed at suppressing the demand for "live work" on energized electrical equipment. Organizers say the "Just Don't Ask" campaign represents the first time that major industry partners have joined together in a concerted effort to suppress the demand for such unnecessarily dangerous work. More

Faults and Fires
from the News & Observer
For months, North Carolina homebuilders have been itching to overturn a new building code requirement meant to cut down on electrical fires. The hammer was expected to meet the nail this week, at a meeting of the state Building Code Council. Instead, last-minute intervention by the Governor's Office led to a postponement of the vote until September. More

Approaching the Inverter
from IAEI Magazine
In IAEI Magazine’s top-to-bottom perspective of a photovoltaic (PV) system, the author discusses the dc circuits from the PV array and the inverter. There are always a few details that get overlooked in designing, installing and inspecting these systems. More

New Mexico City Building Regulations Adopt International Codes
from the Ruidoso News
International building codes covering plumbing, mechanical and electrical work were adopted by reference into Ruidoso, N.M.'s, municipal building regulations last week. The village will be handling the full gamut of inspections in the future and the ordinance must be in place to authorize the jurisdiction. Previously, village inspectors only oversaw the structural inspections, but officials with the state Construction Industries Division served notice they would no longer just handle electrical, mechanical/plumbing for cities and counties. More

Nevada Enacts 'Green Energy' Measures
from The Associated Press via the San Jose Mercury News
With help from the 2009 Legislature, Nevada has become one of the most attractive states in the sun-drenched West for large solar plant development and other alternative energy projects. Jim Baak, director of utility-scale solar for the nonprofit advocacy group Vote Solar, says Nevada was far more proactive than other sunny-state legislatures this year. If some other objectives are met, large-scale solar is likely to become the focus of renewable energy development in Nevada for at least the short term, observers say. More