BRIEF HISTORY OF THE
NATIONAL ELECTRICAL
CODE®
The National Electrical Code was originally drawn in 1897 as a result of the united efforts of various insurance, electrical, architectural, and allied interests. The original Code was prepared by the National Conference on
Standard Electrical Rules, composed of delegates from various interested
national associations. Prior to this, acting on an 1881 resolution of the National Association of Fire Engineers’ meeting in Richmond, Virginia, a basis for the first Code was suggested to cover such items as identification of the white wire, the use of single disconnect devices, and the use of
insulated conduit.
In 1911, the National Conference of Standard Electrical Rules was disbanded, and since that year, the National Fire Protection Association
(NFPA) has acted as sponsor of the National Electrical Code. Beginning with the 1920 edition, the National Electrical Code has been under the further auspices of the American National Standards Institute (and its
predecessor organizations, United States of America Standards Institute,
and the American Standards Association), with the NFPA continuing in its
role as Administrative Sponsor. Since that date, the Committee has been identified as “ANSI Standards Committee C1” (formerly “USAS C1” or “ASA C1”). Major milestones in the continued updating of successive issues of the National Electrical Code since 1911 appeared in 1923, when the Code was
rearranged and rewritten; in 1937, when it was editorially revised so that all the general rules would appear in the first chapters followed by
supplementary rules in the following chapters; and in 1959, when it was editorially revised to incorporate a new numbering system under which each section of each article is identified by the article number preceding.
the section number. The 1937 edition also included an introduction for the
first time, and many of its most important provisions survive, almost verbatim, in Art. 90 today. That article number, together with much of what is familiar about the Code today, began with the 1959 organizational
changes.
In addition to an extensive revision, the 1975 NEC was the first Code to be dated for the year following its actual release. That is, although it was released in September of 1974, instead of being called the 1974 Code—as was done for the 1971 and all previous editions of the NEC—this Code was identified as the 1975 Code. That’s the reason there appears to be 4
years, instead of the usual 3, between the 1971 and 1975 editions. The purpose was to have the named code year agree with the effective dates of adoption in, at least, the early adopting jurisdictions.
Due to the proliferation of premises-owned medium-voltage systems, the 1999 Code notably moved those requirements out of the old Art. 710 and into Chaps. 1 through 4. The 2005 NEC made a notable reorganization
of almost all of Chap. 3, resulting in new article numbers for almost every wiring method.
The 2020 edition contains four new articles, three of which simply reorganize technical material in a more usable way. Article 242 is largely a combination and relocation of former Art. 280 (Surge Arrestors, Over
1000 V) and Art. 285 (Surge Protective Devices, 1000 V and Less). Article
311 separates medium-voltage coverage from Art. 310, and in the process incorporates coverage of Medium-Voltage cables formerly carried as Art.
328, now deleted. Former Art. 800 on Communications Circuits relocates
as Art. 805. This makes room for a new Art. 800 covering general requirements for communication systems as applicable to all of Chap. 8.
All material that was formerly repeatedly duplicated throughout Chap. 8
has now been relocated here. New Art. 337 covers Type P cable, a highly
specialized cable used primarily for land-based petrochemical drilling
rigs. This is the only new article in terms of technical content.For many years, the National Electrical Code was published by the
National Board of Fire Underwriters (now American Insurance Association), and this public service of the National Board helped
immensely in bringing about the wide public acceptance that the Codenow enjoys. It is recognized as the most widely adopted Code of standard practices in the United States. The National Fire Protection Association
first printed the document in pamphlet form in 1951 and has, since that year, supplied the Code for distribution to the public through its own office and through the American National Standards Institute. The National Electrical Code also appears in the National Fire Codes, issued annually by the National Fire Protection Association.
Join our What's Up Group
Instant Updates 👷
Click here
👇👇👇👇
Download Timer
