I'm an RW in an apprenticeship program learning to be an inside wireman. Any way... when does the EGC between two panels carry current? When operating normal or when there is a ground fault or short circuit or all the time?
Thanks
An EGC (green wire) should never carry current, except under fault conditions.
The ground-voltage conductor that should be carrying the normal operational return current, is the grounded conductor (aka neutral, the white or gray wire).
If you are counting current-carrying conductors for ampacity purposes, the EGC never counts. The neutral might or might not count, and there are specific reasons why it would. In general, neutral counts if it is a mandatory part of the return path of the current, or if significant harmonic loads accumulate onto it, causing it to generate heat.
In order to make sure that the EGC doesn't carry current, it should only be bonded to neutral at exclusively one location: at the main service disconnect.