Code compliant grounding electrode conductor?

infinity said:
My opinion was the same as yours until some of discussions here convinced me otherwise. There's probably some old threads floating around where I made the same argument as you.
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99.996% of the time it is disallowed by the utility. Maybe once or twice I've encountered an inspector that said it was not accessible. But no problem because 8" to the right is another terminal to put it on a disconnect or panel on the other side of the wall.

Many years back I put a GEC in a meter base and the inspector told me it wouldn't fly. I rev'd up ready to talk code, and he said "No, it isn't a code issue, I'm letting you know the POCO won't allow it." He did me a favor. I had stupidly not even check their spec.
 
Jaybone812 said:
Thank you for taking the time to look up eversource.! , I had heard there were utilities in western mass that didn’t allow it , but I’ve only worked with municipal POCO in that area, has N grid always prohibited the gec in the meter? I’ve honestly done it quite a few times no issue
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Never did much in Eastern MA but I have just had it in my head that most POCOs do not allow it. As I posted Eversource in Eastern MA I could not find any prohibition but may have missed it.

Eversource in CT (where I used to have a Masters and worked a little) does not allow it as well as Eversource in Western, MA does not allow it
 
This is what I found from National Grid Massachusetts:

"(B) (C) (D) 6.5 A grounding electrode conductor shall not be connected to the meter socket enclosure. The meter socket enclosure shall not be used to ground other equipment."
 
The picture that @pipebender posted of the hardened meter seal those can't be cut and POCO prohibits you from cutting it.

Personally, I don't agree with that. If you go on a call and it is an emergency, and you need to pull the meter you should be able to JMHO.

It also makes the interior of the meter socket Inaccessible IMHO.

I had a meter main with just that situation. Customer complained that 1/2 the house was blinking. The interior sub panel was fine as was the MB out in the MM. I suspected the trouble was in the upper MM where the meter was but I could not access that. I shut the MB and disconnected 1 leg temporarily until POCO could arrive.
 
Eddie702 said:
The picture that @pipebender posted of the hardened meter seal those can't be cut and POCO prohibits you from cutting it.

Personally, I don't agree with that. If you go on a call and it is an emergency, and you need to pull the meter you should be able to JMHO.

It also makes the interior of the meter socket Inaccessible IMHO.
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I did not realize there are two definitions of Accessible one for equipment and one for wiring methods.
In the context of 250.24(A)(1)
" The grounding electrode conductor connection
shall be made at any accessible point from the load end of the
overhead service conductors, service drop, underground service
conductors, or service lateral to, including the terminal or bus to
which the grounded service conductor is connected at the service
disconnecting means."
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So which one applies there?
The one for wiring methods is the one I have had inspectors challenge me on in T bar drop ceiling.
He wanted me to prove, on the final inspection, a pull box was still 'accessible' without breaking a tile.
 
pipe_bender said:
I did not realize there are two definitions of Accessible one for equipment and one for wiring methods.
In the context of 250.24(A)(1)

So which one applies there?
The one for wiring methods is the one I have had inspectors challenge me on in T bar drop ceiling.
He wanted me to prove, on the final inspection, a pull box was still 'accessible' without breaking a tile.
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GEC, the "C" stands for conductor. So it is not equipment, so "wiring methods" is what applies.
 
CoolWill said:
99.996% of the time it is disallowed by the utility. Maybe once or twice I've encountered an inspector that said it was not accessible. But no problem because 8" to the right is another terminal to put it on a disconnect or panel on the other side of the wall.

Many years back I put a GEC in a meter base and the inspector told me it wouldn't fly. I rev'd up ready to talk code, and he said "No, it isn't a code issue, I'm letting you know the POCO won't allow it." He did me a favor. I had stupidly not even check their spec.
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In Georgia, Georgia Power (Southern Company) does not allow it in the meter base or CT cabinet, while the EMC’s allow it.
 
readydave8 said:
Local EMC (Habersham) used to require it go in meter base, more recently allow it in either side of meter-main
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BRMEMC required it to go straight through the meter base and out the weatherhead in the old days, on overhead services. You’ve got a mixture of Georgia Power and EMC up in your area. All we have is BRMEMC. They have Tri-State over in Fannin county. Get a lot of complaints about them, they did their own inspections at one time. Wouldn’t allow aluminum from the pedestal to mobile homes. Had to be pipe and copper. They were feeding 600 amp service off #2 aluminum @ 1000’ from a 15 kva transformer with a restaurant on top of that!
 
Little Bill said:
You could turn that statement around on an inspector not allowing the GEC in the meter where the POCO says you are allowed.
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That would be a problem here where our utility requires two ground rods at the meter and the GEC from those ground rods landed in the meter. All other GECs are landed in the service equipment.
 
hillbilly1 said:
BRMEMC required it to go straight through the meter base and out the weatherhead in the old days, on overhead services. You’ve got a mixture of Georgia Power and EMC up in your area. All we have is BRMEMC. They have Tri-State over in Fannin county. Get a lot of complaints about them, they did their own inspections at one time. Wouldn’t allow aluminum from the pedestal to mobile homes. Had to be pipe and copper. They were feeding 600 amp service off #2 aluminum @ 1000’ from a 15 kva transformer with a restaurant on top of that!
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I used to work years ago wiring houses in Ellijay. Back then, the inspector required 12 gauge and 20 amp circuits for everything but allowed the switch legs in #14. Is that still a thing there?
 
CoolWill said:
I used to work years ago wiring houses in Ellijay. Back then, the inspector required 12 gauge and 20 amp circuits for everything but allowed the switch legs in #14. Is that still a thing there?
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Haven’t wired anything in Ellijay, and everything in Blue Ridge has been commercial except for the MH 45 years ago. The last job in Blue Ridge was next door to a retail shopping center that burned down. It wasn’t all that old, and no firewalls. The inspector that came out to look at my job said he was glad he wasn’t the one that signed off on that building, it was before his time with the city.
 
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