This article was posted 06/27/2013 and is most likely outdated.

Mike Holt - Rating of the Electrical Industry - 2013
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Mike Holt's State Rating of the Electrical Industry - 2013

Mike Holt’s State Rating of the Electrical Industry - 2013
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As part of our ongoing commitment to safety in the electrical community, we annually update our report that rates and assigns a safety grade to each of the U.S. states.

The standard for measurement in these findings and the ‘points’ assigned are based on adoption of the most current Code on a state-wide level, requirement for licensing for Apprentices, Journeymen, Master Electricians, Inspectors and Professional Engineers, as well as the requirement for continuing education for license renewal at the state level for all of these classifications.

Important note: We know that there are many safe counties and municipalities that take licensing and enforcement seriously.  This is not necessarily reflected in the data reported here because this analysis is based on a uniform standard, which is the State’s adoption of the requirements - and not local.

Congratulations to the following States for their A+ rating. These states have set the standard for electrical safety:
  • Alaska
  • Arkansas
  • Iowa
  • Maine
  • Minnesota
  • North Dakota
  • Oklahoma
  • Oregon
  • South Dakota
  • Utah
  • Wyoming

 
We'd also like to acknowledge the following states for the most improvement on their rankings since our last report:
  • Wisconsin (+5)
  • Alabama (+3)
  • Alaska, Arkansas, Hawaii, Utah (+2)

Below is a summary of the findings.

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.

To see details of the numbers behind these grades Click Here.

STATE

2007

2009

 2010 2012 2013

 CHANGE

  REASON FOR CHANGE

ALABAMA

B- C- C- C- B-

+3

  State-wide licensing; 2011 NEC

ALASKA

B B+ A- A- A+

+2

  2011 NEC; INSP req. CE

ARIZONA

D D D D D

0

  

ARKANSAS

A- A- A- A- A+

+2

  2011 NEC; INSP req. CE

CALIFORNIA

A- A- A- A- A-

0

  

COLORADO

C+ B- B- B B+

+1

  CC program

CONNECTICUT

A- A- A- B+ B+

0

  

D.C.

 C C C C C

0

  

DELAWARE

A- B+ A- A- A

+1

  2011 NEC

FLORIDA

B+ B B+ B B

0

  

GEORGIA

B B- B- C+ B-

+1

  2011 NEC

HAWAII

B- C C C B-

+2

  2008 NEC

IDAHO

B+ B+ A- A- A-

0

  

ILLINOIS

D D D D+ D+

0

  

INDIANA

C- C- C- C- C-

0

  

IOWA

D A- A A A+

+1

  2011 NEC

KANSAS

C- D D D D

0

  

KENTUCKY

A- A- A A- A

+1

  2011 NEC

LOUISIANA

C C+ B- C+ B-

+1

  2011 NEC

MAINE

A A A A A+

+1

  Apprentice lic.

MARYLAND

D D D D+ C-

+1

  CPC req. for Engineers

MASSACHUSETTS

A- A+ A A A

0

  

MIGHIGAN

 A- A- A A- A-

0

  

MINNESOTA

A+ A+ A+ A+ A+

0

  

MISSISSIPPI

D+ D+ D+ D+ D+

0

  

MISSOURI

D+ D D D D

0

  

MONTANA

B B B+ A- A

+1

  2011 NEC

NEBRASKA

B+ B A- A A

0

  

NEVADA

D+ D+ D+ D+ D+

0

  

NEW HAMPSHIRE

A- A- A- A- A-

0

  

NEW JERSEY

 B+ A- A- A- A

+1

  2011 NEC

NEW MEXICO

B+ B+ B+ B+ A-

0

  2011 NEC

NEW YORK

D+ D+ D+ C- C-

0

  

NORTH CAROLINA

A A B+ B B+

+1

  2011 NEC

NORTH DAKOTA

A+ A+ A+ A+ A+

0

  

OHIO

A- B+ B+ B B+

+1

  2011 NEC

OKLAHOMA

A+ A+ A+ A A+

1

  2011 NEC

OREGON

A+ A+ A+ A+ A+

0

  

PENNSYLVANIA

C C- C+ C C+

+1

  INSP req. CE

RHODE ISLAND

A A A A A

0

  

SOUTH CAROLINA

B- B- B B- B-

0

  

SOUTH DAKOTA

A A+ A+ A+ A+

0

  

TENNESSEE

B B B B- B

+1

  LLE license

TEXAS

B+ A- A- A- A-

0

  

UTAH

A A A A- A+

+2

  2011 NEC; Apprentice lic.

VERMONT

B B+ A- A A

0

  

VIRGINIA

B+ A- A- A- A-

0

  

WASHINGTON

A- A A A- A-

0

  

WEST VIRGINIA

B B B+ B B

0

  

WISCONSIN

C+ C+ C+ C A-

+5

  State lic., CE req., CPC for Engineers

WYOMING

A A+ A+ A+ A+

0

  
             

 

NEC adoption: The number of points assigned for adoption of the most current NEC is 3. This year 2011NEC=3 points, 2008NEC=2 points, 2005NEC=1 point, and prior NEC or local adoption = 0 points.

2013 Data
2012 Data
2010 Data
2009 Data
2007 Data

 We acknowledge and congratulate all those states that continue to set high standards in electrical safety.
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Comments

  • How about Puerto Rico ? Canada.. you had them previously.

    Jim Green  July 22 2013, 6:28 pm EDT
    Reply to this comment

  • I believe the rating for Louisiana is too high. There is still no state wide code enforcement. Each parish is using a different version of the code.

    No statewide master or journeyman license required. While there is a state contractors license, you still have to pay each parish seat to do work in that parish.

    Mark Robards  July 1 2013, 6:36 pm EDT
    Reply to this comment

  • I disagree with the grade given for the adoption of the 2011 NEC. Texas has adopted the 2011 NEC statewide but each municipality can adopt whatever version of the NEC they wish and some are still on versions as early as 2005. In addition their are no statewide inspections so even thought the State of Texas adopted the 2011 NEC, there is no enforcement.

    Nick  June 29 2013, 10:58 am EDT
    Reply to this comment

  • I have always had interest in the annual state ratings. This tabulation could be the 'kernel' for a data-crunch project to determine correlation between construction-related incidents/accidents/fires.

    Brian  June 28 2013, 1:24 pm EDT
    Reply to this comment

  • I don't see how Ohio can continue to rank where it is. Other than apprentices, contractors and PEs, there are no licensing programs or continuing education requirements.

    Mike Walker  June 28 2013, 6:52 am EDT
    Reply to this comment

  • Inspector quals in NY are E or below

    NY Inspector  June 28 2013, 6:31 am EDT
    Reply to this comment

  • Vermont does not require permitting for one and two family resiential dwellings outside of the city of Burlington. In a predominately rural state this means that most structures and more importantly dwellings that people sleep in are not wired by persons with knowledge of the NEC or inspected.

    Frank   June 28 2013, 4:58 am EDT
    Reply to this comment

  • I believe a new Column should be added to show if the state has state wide Electrical inspections required by law.

    SLR  June 27 2013, 11:56 pm EDT
    Reply to this comment

  • I do not believe Iowa should have a A+ rating they do not do inspections on agricultural buildings any more.

    S Roberts  June 27 2013, 11:41 pm EDT
    Reply to this comment

  • I apologize if this question has already been asked. Has anyone ever taken this safety ratings data and compared the trends to actual electrically related incidents (electrocution, "bad wiring" electrical fires, electrical worker injuries, etc.). I realize there are two significant issues - local codes and population/urban density - however I would be interested into the actual research.

    LDM  June 27 2013, 10:49 pm EDT
    Reply to this comment

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