Chapter 17. Electricity

Except as otherwise provided, the provisions of this Chapter apply to all electrical equipment and the installation thereof for light, heat or power within or on public or private buildings, structures or premises, including yards, carnivals and parking lots and industrial substations, and all electrical equipment, and the installation thereof, used for power supply to radio and television transmitting and receiving systems in or on such buildings, structures or premises, in the County.

The provisions of this Chapter do not apply to any electrical work or equipment installed by or for any electric company, telegraph or telephone company, where such electrical work or equipment is owned and maintained by such company and is an integral part of the plant or service used by such company in rendering its service to the public.

The provisions of this Chapter do not apply to installations in mines, ships or railway cars or to vehicular equipment.

The provisions of this Chapter do not apply to installations or equipment employed by the United States government.

A permit is not required for any minor repair, as defined in this Chapter.

The Director may recommend regulations for the administration of this Chapter, including a schedule of fees, and may, at the Director’s discretion, hold public hearings as part of this regulation-making process. Such regulations and amendments thereto must not conflict with nor waive any provisions of this Chapter nor be less restrictive than its provisions and must be adopted under Method (2) of section 2A-15 of this Code.

The Director must hold a public hearing, upon adequate public notice, before proposing regulations setting forth the standards and requirements for all installations of electrical equipment within the County. Such regulations must be based upon a designated edition of the National Electrical Code and local amendments thereto, including but not limited to those for the installation of fire alarm systems. Such regulations and amendments must be adopted under Method (2) of section 2A-15 of this Code.

It is unlawful for any person in business of selling air conditioners or major appliances to sell or offer these items for sale without attaching to each item or its sealed carton when sold in this manner so as to be readily observable by all purchasers, written notice of the electrical wiring requirements of each, all in conformity with standards of this electrical code.

It is unlawful for any person who engaged in such sales to fail to display at a prominent location on the premises of such sales the wiring requirement for such appliances as set forth in this chapter.

Except as provided in subsection (b), no person may engage in the business of providing electrical services for compensation in the County unless properly licensed by the State Board of Electricians.

Any person who installs, repairs, or maintains branch circuits as defined in the National Electric Code, in a detached single-family residence which that person or a member of the person’s immediate family owns, for the person’s or immediate family’s use, is not required to hold an electrical license, provided the electrical services are not performed for compensation. Before any electrical work is performed, the owner of the residence must apply to the Director for a permit if a permit is otherwise required by this Chapter.

Required. Except as provided in section 17-1 of this Chapter, no electrical equipment which is subject to the provisions of this Chapter may be installed, repaired or maintained until a permit therefor has been issued by the Department.

Application generally. Except as provided in subsection (c), all applications for permits must be in writing and in such form as may be prescribed by the Department. All applications must be signed by a master electrician licensed by the State Board of Electricians except those signed by homeowners under section 17-13(c). Each application must describe the work to be done and the location thereof and must be accompanied by such plans, specifications and schedules as may be necessary to determine whether the installation conforms with the provisions of this Chapter and, if necessary, the provisions of Chapter 8 of this Code.

Application for installation of photovoltaic systems. The Director may accept reports and recommendations from qualified and approved photovoltaic system plan review service providers that have demonstrated that the photovoltaic system plans reviewed reliably conform to all requirements of this Chapter. Under this subsection, photovoltaic system includes or incorporates one or more of the following: photovoltaic panels, energy storage, or residential electric vehicle charging systems, and any of their related systems or components.

Action on application. The Director must examine or cause to be examined each application, or report and recommendation, for an electrical permit or an amendment to a permit within a reasonable time after the application is filed. If the application or the plans do not conform to all requirements of this Chapter, the Director must reject the application in writing and specify the reasons for rejecting it. If the proposed work conforms to all requirements of this Chapter and all other applicable laws and regulations, the Director must issue a permit for the work as soon as practicable. Before issuing a permit, the person who will perform the work must demonstrate that he or she is qualified to perform the proposed electrical work in a capable manner so as not to endanger the life and property of occupants or neighbors, or property belonging to any public utility.

Contents; conformity with permits; conditions; expiration upon noncommencement of work, etc. Each permit must describe with particularity the installation to be done thereunder, and no person may install any electrical equipment other than in accordance with the permit. The permit is a license to proceed with the work and may not be construed as authority to violate, cancel or set aside any of the provisions of this Chapter. Each permittee must perform all electrical services as required by this Chapter and the electrical code and regulations adopted under it. The issuance of a permit does not prevent the Department from thereafter requiring a correction of errors in plans or in installation or of violations of this Chapter and all other applicable laws or ordinances specifically referring thereto. The issuance of any permit is expressly conditioned upon the applicant’s prompt compliance with all stop work orders issued by the Director. All permits expire and are null and void unless the work authorized thereunder is commenced within 180 days from the date of issuance or after commencement of work if more than 180 days pass between inspections; provided, that the Department may upon good cause shown extend a permit one or more times for a period not to exceed sixty (60) days.

Repairs exempted. No permit shall be required to repair portable electrical equipment or lighting fixtures, or to repair or replace sockets, receptacles or snap switches, or to make other minor repairs at existing outlets, or to repair motors, or to replace motors with motors of the same nameplate rating.

Supervision. It shall be unlawful for any licensee to allow the installation, repair or maintenance of any electrical equipment requiring a permit from the department unless under the immediate and personal supervision of either a licensed master or journeyman.

In addition to the other provisions set forth in this Chapter, whenever the Director determines that electrical services are being prosecuted in violation of the provisions of this Chapter, including those conditions upon which the permit has been issued or in a manner which threatens the safety, health and welfare of the public, the Director may order the work to be immediately stopped.

The stop work order described herein must be in writing and served upon the owner of the property involved or the owner’s agent or to the person doing the work.

It is unlawful for any person to continue or permit the continuance of work after having been served with a stop work order, except such work as the person is directed to perform to remove a violation or unsafe condition.

When any part of an installation regulated by this Chapter is to be hidden from view by the permanent placement of part of a building, the holder of the permit must notify the Department and such installation must not be concealed until it has been inspected and approved by the Department; provided, that on large installations where the concealment of electrical equipment proceeds continuously, the holder of the permit shall give the Department notice thereof so that inspections may be made periodically during the progress of the work.

The Department may remove or require the removal of any structure or materials that prevent proper inspection of any electrical equipment.

No electric light or power company may supply electricity or power to any electrical equipment, for the installation of which a permit is required under this Chapter, and no person shall connect any such electrical equipment to a supply of electricity or power, except where authorized by the Department.

If after the inspection the Department finds the installation to be in conformity with the provisions of this Chapter, it must approve the installation and authorize the use of the installation and connection to the supply of electricity and power, and must give notification to the electric light or power company supplying the same. Such notification may be issued for an entire installation or part thereof.

Authorization may be issued for temporary installations authorized under section 17-16 of this Chapter. Temporary installations may be canceled by the Director at any time if the installation is not maintained as required by this Chapter.

If upon inspection any installation for which a permit is required under this Chapter is found to be in violation of the provisions of this Chapter, the Department must notify the holder of the permit of the nature of such violation in writing and the same must be corrected within ten (10) days after such notice or such other period of time as may be specified by the Department.

If the Director finds that any electrical equipment installed before or after the enactment of this Chapter is dangerous to persons or property because defective or improperly used or installed, the Director must notify the owner or lessee of the property in writing, setting forth the nature of such dangerous condition; and such person must make such changes or repairs as are necessary to put such equipment in a safe condition within such period as may be specified by the Director.

Upon failure of any person to comply with a notice issued pursuant to this section, the Director must revoke any permit which has been issued for the installation of such equipment, must not authorize the electrical light or power company to supply electricity, or must revoke any such authorization which previously has been issued.

If the equipment or installation is connected to a supply of electricity or power, the Director must have the authority to disconnect the same and must send notice to the electric light or power companies to discontinue its supply or electricity or power to such equipment or installation, and such supply of electricity or power must be terminated within twenty-four (24) hours of the receipt of such notice, without liability therefor on the part of such electric light or power company.

It is the duty of the owner, agent, lessee, occupant, or any other person entitled to the beneficial use, rental or control of any building which is required under this Code to have a fire alarm system to provide, install and maintain therein a fire alarm system with sufficient alarm bells, striking stations or automatic detectors, of such type and character as contained in regulations adopted by the County Executive under Method (2) of section 2A-15 of this Code.

All apparatus, materials, equipment and systems used in connection with an alarm system, except the wiring thereof, to be installed under the provisions of these regulations must be designed and of a type suitable for the voltage and current available and be specifically approved for the purpose by the Department before installation. They must be tested and listed by the Underwriters’ Laboratories, Inc., for fire alarm services before submission to the Department.

It is the duty of the owner, agent, lessee, occupant or any other person entitled to the beneficial use, rental or control of any building who desires a burglar alarm system to install and maintain such a system in accordance with provisions of the National Electrical Code as adopted by section 17-3 of this Chapter.

A person must not sell or install electrical equipment which does not contain the certification of an inspection authority approved by the Department.

The standards and requirements of this Chapter must be based upon the currently designated edition of the National Electrical Code and amendments thereto as specified in regulations adopted by the County Executive under Method (2) of section 2A-15 of this Code and are hereby declared to be minimum standards and requirements. Any electrical equipment or installation which is equal or superior to such standards and requirements must be deemed to be in compliance therewith.

Except as otherwise provided in this Chapter, conformity of installations of electrical equipment with such regulations adopted pursuant to section 17-2(b) is prima facie evidence that such installations are reasonably safe to persons and property.

A person must not occupy or offer to sell for occupancy any mobile home, prefabricated or modular dwelling, industrialized building, or similar structure as defined in the National Electrical Code, without having first obtained from the manufacturer a certification by the State of Maryland that the structure meets the standards contained in regulations adopted under sections 12-301 through 12-313 of the Public Safety Article of the Maryland Code.

All electrical installations, including outlets, panel boxes, heat panels and fixtures subject to damage from flooding must be located, built, and floodproofed to eliminate or minimize flood damage.