MODEL # 2000-1
ELECTRIC UTILITY SERVICE EQUIPMENT COMMITTEE
REQUIREMENTS MANUAL
NATIONAL ELECTRICAL MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION (NEMA)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Jurisdiction Statistics:

Regulatory Areas:

PROBLEM:
 Utilities - Nonuniformity

Many jurisdictions west of the Mississippi River had different requirements for metering and service equipment to be used by utilities. This nonuniformity increased costs and caused time delays to contractors and manufacturers that served multiple jurisdictions. More importantly, these delays and additional costs were passed on to consumers.

SOLUTION:
 Uniform Requirements - Manual

The Electric Utility Service Equipment Requirements Committee (EUSERC), composed of utilities and industry stakeholders, developed the EUSERC Requirements Manual for manufacturers of utilities equipment.

DESCRIPTION:
 The deregulation of the electric utility industry has created the latest demand for uniformity among utilities. An ESP (energy service provider) from North Carolina now can sell power to a consumer in Nevada, with metering and billing of that power performed by an MSP (meter service provider) in Arkansas. Under this new regulatory environment, the EUSERC Requirements Manual goes a long way to ensure that all equipment is compatible by establishing some basic guidelines to ensure uniformity.

The EUSERC Requirements Manual was developed by utilities for their use and for the use of manufacturers of metering and service equipment. Twenty years ago, manufacturers had to stock ten or fifteen different styles of the same piece of equipment because each local utility had their own set of requirements. The lack of uniformity also caused utilities much consternation because a contractors from one area would install equipment acceptable in their home areas, but not acceptable in adjoining areas. This created serious problems for the utilities, the contractors, the manufacturers, and most importantly the consumers who could not get their power turned on until expensive, unacceptable equipment was replaced with expensive, acceptable equipment.

EUSERC was established to address these issues and, generally, these problems have been eradicated west of the Misssissippi River. The goals of EUSERC are to support the development of metering and service equipment that is safe and cost effective to the serving agencies and their customers, and to establish manufacturing and installation requirements for metering and service equipment that are acceptable to all member utilities. The organization is composed of, and membership open to, electric utilities nationwide. Associate membership is open to organizations associated with utility service and metering activities. The utilities participating as members and associate members are listed in Section 100 of the manual.

The purpose of EUSERC is to promote uniform electric service requirements among the member utilities, to publish existing utility service requirements for electric service equipment, and to provide direction for development of future metering technology. The EUSERC associate members provide liaison between the member utilities, state and federal agencies, manufacturers, contractors and electrical testing laboratories.

The requirements and installation guides are based on, and replace, the requirements previously published by the WUESSC and the PUESRCC. They are intended for the use of serving agencies, metering and service equipment manufacturers, consulting engineers and architects. The EUSERC Requirements Manual contains information concerning electric service and metering facilities generally provided and installed by the customer. Each serving agency will provide specific information pertaining to metering and service requirement for the territory it serves. Consultation with the appropriate utility prior to new or reconstruction is advised. Individual member utility acceptability of EUSERC requirement drawings is listed in Section 200. EUSERC meets quarterly to consider proposed changes and refinements to the Manual, and the Manual is published on an annual basis.

EVALUATION BY STREAMLINING COMMITTEES:

Advantages

Drawbacks

The Streamlining Committees designated this program as a streamlined model without modification.

IMPLEMENTATION:
 The Manual is used as a tool by the Public Utility Commissions of the states electing to deregulate their electrical utility industry. The State of California realized that with deregulation they needed to establish some compatibility standards to ensure that the equipment presently used by the state’s consumers could continue to be used. California will be using the EUSERC Requirements Manual to establish the compatibility and usability standards. Many of the other states that will be deregulating, or are considering deregulation, are planning to use the EUSERC Requirements Manual as the basis for compatibility and uniformity.

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR ASSISTANCE IN CONSIDERING THE USE OF THIS MODEL, PLEASE CONTACT:

Thomas P. Weekes
President
California Construction Consultants
P. O. Box 2318
Los Gato, CA 95031
Phone: (408) 557-5320
FAX: (408) 557-5499
Email: tweekes@mainstreetnetworks.com 

Or NCSBCS Staff:
Carolyn Fitch
Regulatory Specialist
National Conference of States on Building Codes and Standards
505 Huntmar Park Drive, Suite 210
Herndon, VA 20170
Phone: (703) 481-2038
FAX: (703) 481-3596
Email: cfitch@ncsbcs.org 
Website: www.ncsbcs.org