New Course Announcement: NFPA 70B: A New Standard for Electrical Equipment Maintenance

If you work with solar PV or energy storage assets, you’ve probably considered these questions: 

How do we keep everything running smoothly while managing maintenance costs? 

When should we perform maintenance? 

What exactly needs to be checked? 

How do we ensure our team is working safely?

These questions are critical and have real implications for system performance, safety, and bottom-line costs. Fortunately, there’s now a clearer path forward using the NFPA 70B, the Standard for Electrical Equipment Maintenance.

What Exactly is NFPA 70B?

Back in 1968, the National Electrical Code committee was receiving lots of requests around maintenance recommendations. This eventually led to the development of NFPA 70B, which was first published as a recommended practice in 1975. For decades, it continued to evolve and serve as a valuable, but optional guide for maintenance professionals.

However, January 2023 marked a turning point – NFPA 70B officially became an ANSI standard. This transition changed it from a sweeping set of recommendations to a more concise, mandatory standard. It now provides specific requirements for maintaining electrical systems in industrial plants, commercial buildings, and large multifamily residential complexes. You can think of it as the rulebook for keeping electrical systems – including solar and storage sites – safe and reliable.

Introducing Our New Course – NFPA 70B, A New Standard for Electrical Equipment Maintenance

That’s why we’re excited to announce our comprehensive new course on NFPA 70B. This course was designed to bridge the gap between knowing what the standard requires and actually implementing an effective maintenance program.

What You’ll Learn

This comprehensive course will teach you how to build and implement an effective Electrical Maintenance Program (EMP) based on NFPA 70B. Learning objectives include:

• Outline the scope, purpose, application, and layout of NFPA 70B.
• Summarize essential inputs to an EMP, including other applicable standards, system studies, test records, and manufacturer documentation.
• Define the fundamental structure of an EMP based upon NFPA 70B, including personnel, training, reporting, auditing, and documentation requirements.
• Explain NFPA 70B processes for determining preventive maintenance intervals based on equipment condition assessment.
• Categorize NFPA 70B requirements related to fundamental tests, testing category types, test records, and tools.
• Describe how to use NFPA 70B in conjunction with applicable standards and manufacturer documentation to determine a preventive maintenance scope of work and intervals for electrical equipment.
• Detail the steps and challenges to developing an EMP structured around NFPA 70B

Who Should Take This Course?

This course is designed for professionals working across the electrical maintenance spectrum, with a particular focus on utility-scale solar PV and energy storage sites, including:

• O&M providers and program managers looking to enhance their service offerings
• EPCs, asset managers, and owners seeking to optimize maintenance costs
• O&M technicians wanting to expand their technical expertise
• Electrical engineers and system designers aiming to create more maintenance-friendly systems
• Maintenance professionals interested in implementing industry best practices
• Insurers and financiers working to assess and minimize operational risks

Course Format

The curriculum is divided into 13 focused modules and includes:

• Four hours of engaging video lectures
• Knowledge checks after critical content sections
• Supplementary resources, including best practice guides and example forms
• Real-world examples 

Each module builds upon the previous one, creating a clear path from understanding basic concepts of the code to implementing your own EMP.

Throughout your year of enrollment in the course, you’ll have direct access to your instructors through active discussion boards, giving you the opportunity to ask questions and learn from their decades of industry experience.

Meet Your Instructors

Brian Mehalic and Alex Jahp of Solar Tech Collective created this course with their extensive industry expertise. Brian, a voting member of the National Electrical Code Code-Making Panel 4 (which covers Article 690, 705, and more), brings over 22 years of experience, while Alex has spent over a decade working on projects from rural electrification to utility-scale installations across the United States, Guatemala, and Peru.

Both actively contribute to the creation of industry standards by volunteering with the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and American Clean Power (ACP). Their deep involvement in developing and implementing industry standards makes them uniquely qualified to guide you through this material.

Ready to enhance your electrical maintenance program? Enroll today in NFPA 70B: A New Standard for Electrical Equipment Maintenance!