The 1993 revision of the NEC brought us Art. 90. It's a short (three pages in the loose-leaf edition) but important introduction to the NEC. However, did you know the NEC also contains an Art. 80? You won't see this in the Table of Contents. If you open the front cover and just start flipping pages, the first Article you will find is Art. 90. Then you get to Art. 100.
So where is Art. 80, and what exactly does it say?
To find Art. 80, you need to look in the back of the NEC. Specifically, you need to look at Annex H. You can think of Art. 80 as a supplement to Art. 90. It is seven pages long in the loose-leaf edition.
Article 80 addresses five major functions:
Electrical inspections.
Electrical fire investigations.
Review of electrical construction plans.
Design, modification, construction, and maintenance of electrical equipment.
Electrical equipment at special events.
80.2 provides three definitions:
Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ). Rather than refer you to the Art. 100 definition, 80.2 provides a different one. This could put you in an odd position, as the final arbiter of interpreting the NEC is the AHJ.
Chief Electrical Inspector. This is the person responsible for administering the NEC in relation to your facility or project. The CEI could be either the AHJ or someone designated by the AHJ to be the CEI.
Electrical Inspector. This is someone authorized to conduct electrical inspections and who meets the inspector requirements detailed in 80.27.
In future issues, we'll look at the first four of those five major functions more closely.
