Counterfeit Christmas Lights Pose Safety Hazard
from PR Newswire via Biz Journals
Counterfeit Christmas lights -- including those with fake Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. (UL) labels -- pose a threat to consumers for their potential inability to meet electrical safety and fire codes. The traditional holiday decorations are part of the rapidly growing crime of counterfeit electrical products in the United States -- 90+ percent of which are imported from China. Now reaching epic proportions in a $130 billion industry, counterfeiting is a crime that threatens the lives and safety of all U.S. citizens and electrical workers. More

Council Rejects Request for Different Electrical Wiring
from the McAlester News-Capital
The McAlester, Okla., city council voted 4-2 to deny a request for a hotel builder to use a different electrical wiring system than required by city codes. The city manager, fire chief and electrical inspector had all recommended the council reject the proposed variance for Candlewood Suites. Builder Harold Ray of Thomas Construction said the action will cost the owners about $120,000. More

Illustrated Catastrophes
from EC&M
Take a look at the illustrations in this article. Each of them violate the 2008 NEC in some way. Don't consider the following commentary associated with these photos as a formal interpretation of the NEC. Without criticizing anyone or any product, the following scenarios present some serious safety questions. More

Revised NFPA 70E Clarifies Electrical Safety
from Plant Services
During the June 2008 National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) World Safety Conference and Exposition, the final content of the 70E standard began to take shape. Until then, nothing was firm because the NFPA Standards Council has the final say on 70E, as it does on any NFPA-derived documents. This structure is in place to administer the rules and regulations and to act as an appeals body for any disagreements to the codes and standards. More

Expanding GFCI Requirements
from Consulting Specifying Engineer
The National Electrical Code has included ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) protection since 1962 and gave it definition in the 1968 NEC. In each edition thereafter, GFCI safety requirements have expanded. Today, the 2005 NEC constitutes the largest expansion of GFCI usage yet in Section 210.8, providing GFCI requirements for dwelling units and industrial, commercial and institutional facilities. More

Texas Adjusts Its Grid for Wind
from the New York Times
The major problem with wind as a power source is that it doesn’t blow all the time. To remedy that, Texas is spending $30 million a year to bolster its back-up power, in a change to the electricity grid that began on Nov. 1. More

Firms See the Light on Saving Energy
from the Kansas City Business Journal
Saving a chunk of money by changing to an energy-efficient lighting system might not be as easy as flipping a switch, but it’s moving in that direction. Of course, that switch will have a price tag hanging from it, but the initial cost of an energy-efficient system is about the same as more conventional ones, and it’s easier to install. More