If you even ask then you know that case law has pretty much upheld that property owners can pretty much do what they want with their property. The purpose of the electrical and building codes is to protect “the public” against poor workmanship. So homeowners pulling permits is kind of screwy as they are asking the government to protect them from themselves.
States require contractors to pull permits and contractors work off permits so they really have no choice in the matter. Except that industrial plants as an example pretty much never pull permits except maybe during initial construction and they are pretty much always under construction once they start up. They hire contractors and do their own work. There is no protection of the public here. Not sure why it would be any different if a homeowner hires someone.
I like that logic to some extent. Doesn't work that way here.
You build a new house you don't get power if you don't file a permit. File the permit you will get inspected at some time. They eventually got to where they decided owner can't file permit on new house though, without ever changing the wording of the laws. Was worded that an owner can pull permit for wiring in his principal place of residence. A new house isn't your principal place of residence until you move in. I'd guess maybe some have challenged that by claiming they are living there while under construction. Doubt they got what they wanted, and in the process possibly made it that much harder for any electrician to want to work for them when they finally decide to get qualified person to do it.
Industrial - the wind farms around here had permit/inspection for every tower. They are not a utility owned operation so not exempt from that aspect. I don't know how I feel about that. Heard through grapevine that mostly all that mattered much was grounding - which I really don't know what to think of either, huge concrete footing with lots of steel reinforcement and we are going to question whether it is grounded? Most everything on those I would guess is cookie cutter from site to site and possibly a lot of it already pre assembled, all they likely need to do is run cables. I can almost guarantee inspector never seen the top of the towers, unless maybe they had an elevator to bring him up there, but I don't think they do. My guess, inspector figured they know what they are doing and didn't really look at much at all, but we have to collect our permit fee regardless. These not initially installed by those that maintain and operate them BTW.
