Overview
Section 90.2 used to be the Scope for Article 90 but eventually, in accordance with the NEC style manual, A section for Scope was added requiring that 90.2 be refocused on what it was originally destined to be. This Section title was changed during the 2023 cycle for that edition of the electrical code to “Use and Application” and separated into six first level sub-divisions as follows:
(A) Addresses practical safeguarding
(B) Deals with adequacy of the installation
(C) Tells us what installations are covered
(D) Tells us what installations are not covered
(E) Pulls in the relationship with other international standards
(F) Explains what is meant by an AHJ providing special permission
The contents of these sections have not significantly changed but were reorganized as part of the 2023 edition of the electrical code. First level sub-division (E), Relation to Other International Standards, was modified during this same code cycle to specifically point to Part 1, “Fundamental Principles, Assessment of General Characteristics, Definitions”, of Standard 60364-1 titled “Low-voltage Electrical Installations”. This change was made also as part of the informational note and the informational note was modified to comply with the 2020 electrical code style manual.
Some additional restructuring occurred during the 2026 electrical code cycle. It was recognized that this section applies to the entire document. The 2026 edition of the electrical code will see the following first-level subdivisions of 90.2:
(A) Provides a document scope
(1) Addresses what is covered by the electrical code
(2) Addresses what is not covered by the electrical code
(B) Provides the practical safe guarding requirements
(C) Explains what is meant by adequacy
(D) Pulls in the relationship with other international standards
Background Information
The reorganization and growth of Section 90.2 has been driven by the creation of the 90.1 Scope which focused purely on the scope of this Article. The changes found in 90.2(E) during the 2023 cycle were to align with the actual title of IEC 60364-1 while the remainder was to align with the requirements of the 2020 Electrical Code Style Manual. The changes during the 2026 code cycle were driven by the style manual and ensure the focus for this section is on the entire code and not just Article 90. The addition of scope of the electrical code was added to comply with the Style Manual section 2.1.4.4. In addition the 2026 edition removed the phrase “and proper maintenance”. Section 3.2.1 of the Style Manual identifies “proper” as possibly an unenforceable vague term. The word “maintenance” was removed as maintenance is an activity covered after an installation and covered in NFPÅ 70B.
Future
this area of the electrical code is and we’ll see considerable changes moving forward. There will be a complete restructuring of the electrical code that will change a lot of of the numbering systems found. Stay tuned for much more in this regard so that you can navigate the document and others, effectively and efficiently.
Leave a Reply