Electical Contractor

With all this talk about the coming of the smart grid, it seems like a good idea to review what currently delivers the electrons to your door.

When people in electrical construction think about outside line work, they think of overhead lines, repair work, linemen, hooks, bucket trucks and traditional distribution. They think of crews battling bad weather to restore power to places affected by ice and storms.

Private and government energy experts have long agreed that major upgrades are sorely needed for our nation’s electric transmission infrastructure—-particularly for the Eastern Interconnection, a vast area composed of all the states east of the Rocky Mountains, with the exception of Texas, which is

New York Regional Interconnect (NYRI), a private company, is trying to build a 190-mile high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line from upstate New York to just outside New York City.

American Electric Power (AEP) is evaluating the feasibility of building a multistate, extra-high-voltage transmission project across the northern Midwest to support the development of renewable energy.

PJM Interconnection President and CEO Terry Boston testified before the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee that transmission is the enabler of virtually all of the energy goals Congress is considering.

Article 90—Introduction; Article 312—Cabinets, Cutout Boxes and Meter Socket Enclosures; Article 314—Outlet, Device, Pull and Junction Boxes; Conduit Bodies; Fittings; and Handhole Enclosures; Article 330—Metal Clad Cable: Type MC; Article 695—Fire Pumps; Article 700—Emergency Systems

Article 200—Use and Identification of Grounded Conductors; Article 220—Branch-Circuit, Feeder and Service Calculations; Article 240—Overcurrent Protection; Article 310—Conductors for General Wiring; Article 314—Outlet, Device, Pull and Junction Boxes; Conduit Bodies; Fittings; and Handhole Enclosure

Fire pump disconnecting means Q: Is the disconnect for an electric motor driving a fire pump required to be within sight of the motor or is it permitted to be out of sight if capable of being locked in the off position? Can the disconnect and overcurrent protection be located in a panelboard?