The new NFPA 70B, Recommended Practice for Electrical Equipment Maintenance closed its First Draft balloting on June 11, 2021, at 11:59 PM EDT. Much work has been done — and will continue to be done — by the committee members.
This has been a huge re-write with chapters added, moved, renamed, and completely revamped. Material that was anything but a “what to do” has been removed from the chapters but retained in annex material for its value.
The final two weeks of work included multi-day Teams meetings between six and eight hours in length. We’re pretty happy with the outcome and very pleased to have a break from the work. The First Draft report will be issued by October 29, 2021. The public comment closing date for the Second Draft is February 9, 2022. The next publication is due to release in 2023.
David Huffman has been with Power Systems Testing, a NETA Accredited Company, since January 1988 and is currently CEO. He graduated from California State University, Fresno, and is a licensed Professional Electrical Engineer in the state of California as well as a NETA Level IV Certified Technician. David is a NETA board member, NETA’s Principal Representative to the NFPA 70B Committee, and serves as a member of various NETA committees.