Utility requires inspection when no Permit exists

S

solarken

NABCEP PVIP
Location
Hudson, OH, USA
Occupation
Solar Design and Installation Professional
I just completed a PV install on a new home under construction in a township that does not have any requirements for a building permit (Not for the house build and not for the solar). But our utility requires an inspection be done and evidence that it passed inspection and meets local code and NEC requirements. Has anyone been in a similar situation and what did you do to get the inspection passed documentation? The inspection passed doc is needed for the final interconnection agreement.

I am NABCEP certified with an OHio electrical license, but thinking they will not let me self-inspect. There is a licensed electrician working on the electrical in the home now, but he does not know anything about solar. This place is in a fairly rural area. I did find a home inspector in the area, but I am guessing they just do general home inspections like during a home sale.
 
You are very far from me, but we occasionally have to get a "special inspection" done by an engineering house for things like a custom steel structure made by a welding shop, or concrete anchor bolt torque.

But I am certain that at base this would be simply the whim of the utility who they will accept.
 
The POCOs in our area require inspection prior to turning on power
 
solarken said:
This place is in a fairly rural area. I did find a home inspector in the area, but I am guessing they just do general home inspections like during a home sale.
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Holmes County? At any rate, I would think that even though the township doesn't have permitting requirements, that an inspector/supervisor at the county (or worst case, Columbus) could send someone to tag the work.
 
If it’s in Ohio, some of the utilities will allow a licensed electrician or licensed electrical inspector to approve and release it. In fact I did that personally for a solar company recently that built a system on an agricultural property where the local jurisdiction would not issue a permit because it was agricultural.
 
ModbusMan said:
Holmes County? At any rate, I would think that even though the township doesn't have permitting requirements, that an inspector/supervisor at the county (or worst case, Columbus) could send someone to tag the work.
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It's in Huron, near Sandusky.
 
I'm being Mr. Obvious here, but maybe ask the utility what they accept? It can't be the first time this has come up for them and they must have an alternate policy in place for locations in their service area that do not have local AHJs issuing permits.
 
Zee said:
Eh, who needs inspections on a roller coaster!
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Back in the day, my buddy's dad used to get carnival rides in his truck repair shop for repairs. Some of those rides were kinda scary looking mechanically. They were good to do business with though, paid in cash, never argued, no waiting for some third party to approve the repairs
 
Back in the day I installed a couple of PV systems out in the boonies where there was no permitting done but the POCO required an inspection. The inspections were, shall we say, perfunctory.
 
pv_n00b said:
I'm being Mr. Obvious here, but maybe ask the utility what they accept? It can't be the first time this has come up for them and they must have an alternate policy in place for locations in their service area that do not have local AHJs issuing permits.
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I 2nd this; just ask the utility what they want.
 
ggunn said:
If the POCO requires an inspection, it seems to me that they should inspect it themselves.
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I was thinking that the POCO probably doesn't want to take on that liability. If they make the connection based on their own inspection and something goes wrong, they have nowhere to point the finger. They want a clear end to their point of responsibility, if the problem lies beyond that point, not their fault.
 
There are companies that provide inspection services. (4Leaf is one.) Find one that will provide an inspection and report. Or ask the POCO if they have a list of such companies whose inspection report they'd accept.
 
Here it boils down to what JoeB states in post #15,, POCO states it;s a liability issue.
Locally they even ask for an inspection if power is being restored to a house that has been empty (time varies by POCO). There have been instances where they have restored power only to have a house fire shortly after power restoration..
 
Happens here sometimes. Sometimes, if I have time, I will go out and tag something that didn't require a permit, sometimes I send the contractor an email telling them it ain't happening, forward this email to the POCO, and have the POCO call me if they don't like it. The POCO has accepted that email so far.
 
Thats interesting no local government provided inspections, and no permits? Is there zoning?
Why would the utility not know the drill?
What happens if I build a trash to steam plant there?
Seriously I have herd thats how they do it over in the UK, but I think electricians still file a permit record of work done and perform a self inspection by a registered master or something.
Also buildings are required to be inspected on some interval by a electrician who check a required list of items.
 
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