EPHRATA — Grant County PUD customers who need emergency disconnection to fix equipment will be required to prove or obtain Labor and Industries inspection and certification of the work before the electricity will be turned back on. Utility district employees detailed the procedure for PUD commissioners recently.

The policy applies to all PUD customers, said Mike Tongue of the PUD.

When customers request a power disconnect, PUD employees inform them of their responsibilities. One critical requirement, part of state regulations, is that customers must determine if the work being done will require inspection from L&I.

The L&I inspections, if needed, are important because PUD employees can’t turn the electricity back on unless they have proof of an L&I inspection, or verbal permission from L&I to restore power.

It wasn’t always that way in the past, but the inspection requirements are state rules and the PUD will be following those rules. Labor and Industries officials have asked PUD officials to “visually verify all work performed when we arrive on site. If we see something we believe required a permit, they want us to notify L&I prior to energizing,” according to information provided at the meeting.

Tongue addressed the rules applying to irrigation systems. Inspections are required for systems installed after 1973, Tongue said. New inspections are required for some repairs. Those include replacing a main circuit breaker, altering an existing electric service, adding or changing a pump or sprinkler system (called a circle) or adding electrical service disconnects.

If the required L&I certifications are not visible, PUD employees contact L&I to see if inspections have been requested. If the work has been done by an electrical contractor – but only if it’s been done by an electrical contract – L&I will give permission for power to be restored in certain circumstances. Otherwise, the customer must wait for the L&I inspection and accompanying certification.

Labor and Industries only conducts inspections Mondays through Thursdays. Commissioner Tom Flint asked what happens if an emergency comes up at night or on weekends. “The stuff that’s got me sideways has been a circuit breaker burning up on a Saturday afternoon.”

There are some ways to alleviate emergency situations. “If you used a licensed contractor to perform the work, we have direct 7-by-24 [24-7] contact with the L&I inspectors who will talk to the contractors,” Tongue said. The L&I officials can talk to the contractors, and if the answers are satisfactory, L&I can give verbal permission to proceed.

But if the customer (or anyone other than a licensed electrician) has completed the work, the L&I inspection and approval is required before the service will be turned back on, Tongue said.