Many contractors find themselves in the situation where their customer requests them to “inspect / test” their electrical installation.
Examples of this type of request might be a landlord requesting an inspection / test of an apartment/ apartments, or for instance a fire officer requesting a “certificate” for a premises that may require a licence to conduct a particular type of business such as a public house, night club etc.
Often times the electrical contractor responds to these type of requests by giving the customer an ETCI completion certificate having tested the electrical installation which in a lot of cases may be many years old and in some situations could require urgent remedial electrical work. In situations such as this the correct course of action would be to inspect and test the installation and then furnish the customer with an “ETCI periodic inspection report” (see annex 62A ETCI National Rules for Electrical Installations). It is important to remember that this is not a certificate, it is a report which gives the recipient a clear indication of the “state of health” of the electrical installation and whether or not there are minor or worse still serious defects present.
The bottom line is that an ETCI completion certificate should not be used in these situations unless the installation is compliant with the present day requirements.
Jim Keogh, Chairman,
Irish National Wiring Rules Committee TC2,
Electro Technical Council of Ireland