header
Mike Holt’s State Rating of the Electrical Industry - 2014

Mike Holt’s State Rating of the Electrical Industry - 2014

As part of our ongoing commitment to safety in the electrical community, we annually update our report that assigns a safety grade to each of the U.S. states based on points* for state-wide adoption and enforcement of the following electrical standards:

  • The most current NEC®
  • State licensing requirements for Apprentice, Journeyman, Master, Contractor, Inspector, Engineer
  • Continuing Education requirements for license renewal

THE CURRENT NEC®
The 2014 NEC® became effective on August 21, 2013. Congratulations to the two states that have taken the lead with early implementation:
Massachusetts    – effective January 1, 2014
Nebraska             – effective April 2, 2014

For this report, we have assigned points to those states that have already voted to adopt the 2014 NEC® and have set an implementation date. These states are Colorado, Idaho, Kentucky, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Texas and Washington.

There are also several states that have commenced the review process to update administrative rules to reference the 2014 NEC®. The list of states can be found on The Electrical Code Coalition (ECC) web page by following this link: http://www.electricalcodecoalition.org/state-adoptions.aspx. We have indicated these states by showing the projected effective dates in the chart below.

“A+” [HIGHEST] RANKING
Maine, Nebraska and South Dakota - a ‘full house” of points due to adoption of the 2014 NEC®, and meeting the state mandated requirements on all the categories evaluated for this analysis.

HERE’S THE RANKING
Click Here for a complete history since 2007, and details of how the points are assigned.

STATE
 2012 2013 2014 2014 change

WHAT UPDATED SINCE 2013 REPORT

[Note: -1 will show for any state that has not adopted 2014 NEC, and has no other change]

ALABAMA

C-

B-

C+

-1

 

ALASKA

A-

A+

A

-1

 

ARIZONA

D

D

F

-1

 

ARKANSAS

A-

A+

A

-1

 

CALIFORNIA

A-

A-

A-

0

2011NEC 1/1/14

COLORADO

B

B+

B+

0

2014 NEC effective 7/1/14

CONNECTICUT

B+

B+

A-

+1

2011NEC 2/28/14; CC program for electricians

DC

C

C

C+

+1

2011 NEC 3/28/14; INSP req. certification

DELAWARE

A-

A

A-

-1

 

FLORIDA

B

B

B-

-1

 

GEORGIA

C+

B-

C+

-1

Projected 2014 NEC effective 1/1/15

HAWAII

C

B-

C+

-1

 

IDAHO

A-

A-

A

+1

2014 NEC eff. 7/1/14 [from 2008 NEC]

ILLINOIS

D+

D+

D

-1

 

INDIANA

C-

C-

D+

-1

 

IOWA

A

A+

A

-1

Projected 2014 NEC effective 1/1/15

KANSAS

D

D

F

-1

 

KENTUCKY

A-

A

A

0

2014 NEC effective 7/1/14

LOUISIANA

C+

B-

C+

-1

 

MAINE

A

A+

A+

0

2014 NEC effective 7/1/14

MARYLAND

D+

C-

D+

-1

 

MASSACHUSETTS

A

A

A

0

2014 NEC as of 1/1/14

MICHIGAN

A-

A-

A

+1

2011 NEC as of 7/1/13; Engineer CE req.

MINNESOTA

A+

A+

A

-1

Projected 2014 NEC effective 7/1/14

MISSISSIPPI

D+

D+

D

-1

 

MISSOURI

D

D

F

-1

 

MONTANA

A-

A

A-

-1

Projected 2014 NEC effective 9/1/14

NEBRASKA

A

A

A+

+1

2014 NEC as of 4/9/14; INSP req. CEUs

NEVADA

D+

D+

D

-1

NEW HAMPSHIRE

A-

A-

A-

0

2014 NEC effective 1/1/15

NEW JERSEY

A-

A

A-

-1

 

NEW MEXICO

B+

A-

B+

-1

Projected 2014 NEC effective 7/1/14

NEW YORK

C-

C-

D+

-1

 

NORTH CAROLINA

B

B+

B

-1

 

NORTH DAKOTA

A+

A+

A

-1

Projected 2014 NEC effective 9/1/14

OHIO

B

B+

B

-1

Projected 2014 NEC effective 1/1/15

OKLAHOMA

A

A+

A

-1

 

OREGON

A+

A+

A

-1

Projected 2014 NEC effective 10/1/14

PENNSYLVANIA

C

C+

C

-1

 

RHODE ISLAND

A

A

A

0

2014 NEC effective 7/1/14

SOUTH CAROLINA

B-

B-

B-

0

2011 NEC as of 7/1/13

SOUTH DAKOTA

A+

A+

A+

0

2014 NEC effective 7/1/14

TENNESSEE

B-

B

B-

-1

 

TEXAS

A-

A-

A-

0

2014 NEC effective 9/1/14

UTAH

A-

A+

A

-1

 

VERMONT

A

A

A-

-1

Projected 2014 NEC effective 6/1/14

VIRGINIA

A-

A-

B+

-1

 

WASHINGTON

A-

A-

A

+1

2014 NEC effective 7/1/14 [from 2008NEC]

WEST VIRGINIA

B

B

B

0

2011 NEC as of 9/1/13

WISCONSIN

C

A-

A-

0

2011 NEC as of 12/1/13

WYOMING

A+

A+

A

-1

Projected 2014 NEC effective 7/1/14

*HOW THE POINTS ARE ASSIGNED

One point is assigned to each element of the licensing type, and one point for each element of the continuing education requirements for that license type. To see details of the points behind the grades Click Here

The number of points assigned for adoption of the most current NEC is 3. This year 2014 NEC=3 points, 2011 NEC=2 points, 2008 NEC=1 point, 2005 NEC = 0 and prior NEC or local adoption = -1 point. States that have not adopted a newer edition of the NEC since the last report will automatically slide down one point due to the new scale.

Important note: We know that there are many safe counties and municipalities that take licensing and enforcement seriously.  This will not be reflected in the data reported here because this analysis is based on a uniform standard that is the State adoption of the requirements, regardless of whether local counties and municipalities have their own high standards.

WE APPRECIATE YOUR FEEDBACK!

If you have any updated information that you feel would change our rankings on this year’s report, please post your comment – we appreciate your feedback to help keep this analysis accurate and current.

ARCHIVE OF PAST REPORTS
2013 Data
2012 Data
2010 Data
2009 Data
2007 Data

We acknowledge and congratulate all those states, counties and local municipalities that continue to set high standards in electrical safety.

 

NEC® is a registered trademark of the National Fire Protection Agency.

 
footer
This newsletter was sent to 21549 Subscribers
Unsubscribe
Comments

  • I am currently licensed in VA and Md and am in process of gathering all documentation necessary for a DC testing. Although the District website does verify the adoption of the 2011 code, they are still testing with the 2005 version for a Master's license. Makes absolutely no sense.

    Mark McCluney  May 7 2014, 11:13 am EDT
    Reply to this comment

  • Why do the lights dim when the ac or heater comes on. Old house but mine dose the same thing.

    richard sullivan  May 5 2014, 7:28 pm EDT
    Reply to this comment

  • I have read over your scoring method and perhaps understand it a little better. Please note, you have one error for Colorado. CEUs are required for Inspectors, the same as any other licensee. We call them PDUs (Professional Development Units - another name for the same). The amount required is determined by the Continuing Competency Assessment each licensee must complete each license cycle.

    Grant Hammett  May 2 2014, 1:01 pm EDT
    Reply to this comment

  • I have a state certified general journeyman card for Alaska and Calif. " Question ? I would like to know what states are reciprocal states that I could work in those states using my current state certifications , so i would not have to take the test in that state.

    Thomas List  April 29 2014, 1:41 pm EDT
    Reply to this comment

  • What is the difference between Minnesota and South Dakota other than one has a A rating and one has a A+ rating. They look Equal to me.

    SLR  April 29 2014, 10:18 am EDT
    Reply to this comment

  • Mike, I have to say your survey raises significant credibility questions. How is it that Colorado, who adopts the current NEC at the beginning of it's fiscal year each NEC cycle, has a lower score than California and Michigan that are 3 years behind the times?!

    Grant Hammett  April 29 2014, 9:36 am EDT
    Reply to this comment

  • I can't speak for other States but I am aware of what's going on in Florida.

    Electricians are licensed as either EC or ES contractors. The EC is an unlimited Certified Electrical Contractor while the ES is a Specialty Electrical Contractor, limited to specific areas of electrical work.

    An ES Lighting License would limit the Qualifier to ONLY Lighting and an ES Sign Electric would limit the Qualifier to ONLY Sign Electric.

    We have many ES-Sign contractors advertising, and performing, Electrical repairs as well as Lighting repairs while ES-Lighting contractors are doing Electrical and Sign repairs.

    At one time I believed that the violators were just unaware of the Licensing Statutes but have come to realize that the DBPR actually condones this type of behavior.

    The DBPR says that since they are "Licensed" contractors, this is NOT unlicensed activity.

    Your thoughts?

    Larry Cox  April 29 2014, 8:25 am EDT
    Reply to this comment

  • Seems to me that the only state currently working under the 2014 code deserves an A+!

    Tracey A.  April 29 2014, 7:02 am EDT
    Reply to this comment

  • Wisconsin does not require a licence for journeymen electricians. The requirement was approved several years ago, but implementation postponed several times. While there is a state licence, it is NOT required by the state.

    Will A.  April 28 2014, 11:45 pm EDT
    Reply to this comment

Get notified when new comments are posted here
* Your Email:
 
        
 
Add Your Comments to this Newsletter
* Your Name:
   Your name will appear under your comments.

* Your Email:
   Your email address is not displayed.
* Comments:

Email Notification Options:
Notify me when a reply is posted to this comment
Notify me whenever a comment is posted to this newsletter