The Mayor and City Council approved the Electrical Code amendments and the new code is effective November 12, 2014.
Highlights of the approved amendments include:
- Each adopted WAC rule is now found within the new code and informational notes are used to highlight this addition. We hope this will simplify access to all of Seattle’s electrical requirements.
- Renewable energy applications for mid-sized systems (7-26 kW) now require applicants to provide a line-drawing of the system to the district inspector before calling for an inspection. Large systems still require full plan review.
- Electric vehicle charging capacity requirements now apply to all occupancies with a revised demand factor table. Electrical equipment rooms must continue to provide space for future installation of a vehicle charging panel and conduit routing.
- Supplying power to individual dwelling units must be done within common area walls such as hallway ceilings or walls, or within the exterior walls of a structure. Running conduit through a dwelling to serve a different dwelling is not allowed
- Submitted plans must contain enough detail to ensure compliance with the Code during plan review. Incomplete plans will be returned with a list a corrections. When a third review is required, DPD may charge additional review time fees for that review and subsequent reviews.
We are drafting the insert pages for the 2014 NEC code books. We expect to have it competed prior to the effective date and will post it on the electrical code web page as soon as it is completed.
Any electrical permit obtained on or after November 12 and which does not have an associated building code permit must comply with the new code. The application date of an underlying building permit determines which electrical code must be applied for those projects associated with a building permit.
For questions, please call the technical support line at (206) 684-5383.