Electrical Advisory Board Elimination Changes Plan Review Process

Amendment of Rules Governing Electrical Work are up for discussion this Thursday, January 25, 2018 - 10:00am, at Spector Hall, located at 22 Reade Street New York, NY 10007

A rule is a type of law that is proposed and adopted by a City agency. Rules are distinguished from other forms of laws by the process that agencies must follow to enact or amend them. The rulemaking process generally takes a minimum of 60 days, and during this period, agencies are required to provide New Yorkers with an opportunity to review and comment on the proposed rules.

The proposed rule to be discussed at the hearing will repeal sections:

• 34-01 - relating to phase-in of new standards for electrical work,
• 34-02 - relating to review of applications for electrical permits and certificates of electrical inspection, and
• 34-03 - relating to temporary certification to perform low voltage electrical work, because they refer to a phase-in period that ended in 2003.

Amendments are also proposed to rule 101-12 to expand the jurisdiction of the Office of Technical Certification and Research (“OTCR”) to allow it to replace the electrical advisory board in reviewing electrical equipment and materials. OTCR’s jurisdiction is currently limited to equipment and materials covered by Title 28 of the New York City Administrative Code.

Electrical Advisory Board (EAB) is a board of members appointed by New York City Department of Buildings Commissioner (of a discretionary number and organizational affiliation) to provide advice on electrical installations requiring review.

An electrical permit is required for most electrical work performed in your home or business.This includes all handling of electrical wires. DOB’s Bureau of Electrical Control (BEC) issues electrical permits, after approval of Electrical Advisory Board. Upon receipt of a properly completed application, BEC typically will issue a permit within three business days.

Anyone can comment on the proposed rule, and we reached out to Building Violation Committee, a political action committee at Building Violation LLC, to discuss how this change will effect electrical applications and violations.

"According to our analysis of the proposed amendment, this extra step provides more safety but will hit wallets hard." - says Michael Germanovsky, of Building Violation LLC, - "Electrical installations over 1000kVA will need to be submitted for electrical review by registered NY professional engineer. Contractors alone no longer can apply for permit. The requirements of the submission remain the same, but the extra step ads on more cost for violators in resolving their building violations, because this creates additional expense of hiring an engineer."

Anyone who wants to comment on the proposed rule at the public hearing must sign up to speak. You can sign up before the hearing by calling 212-393-2085. You can also sign up in the hearing room before the hearing begins on 1/25/18. You can speak for up to three minutes. or send a comment by email to dobrules@buildings.nyc.gov