New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 14 - HOUSING AND CONSTRUCTION
Chapter 10 - ELECTRICAL CODES
Part 4 - 2020 NEW MEXICO ELECTRICAL CODE
Section 14.10.4.12 - CHAPTER 2 WIRING AND PROTECTION

Universal Citation: 14 NM Admin Code 14.10.4.12

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 18, September 24, 2024

A. Article 210. Branch circuits. See this article of the NEC except as provided below.

(1) Section 210.8 Ground-fault circuit-interrupter protection for personnel. See this section of the NEC except as provided below. Section 210.8 (F) Outdoor outlets. See this section of the NEC and add the following exception: Exception No. 2 GFCI protection shall not be required for listed HVAC equipment.

(2) Section 210.11 Branch circuits required. See this section of the NEC except as provided below.
(a) 210.11 (A) Number of branch circuits. See this section of the NEC and add: In dwelling units, branch circuits for 125-volt, 15- and 20- ampere general purpose lighting and receptacles outlets shall be limited to a maximum of ten (10) lighting and/or receptacle outlets per branch circuit. Single and duplex receptacle outlets are considered to be one receptacle outlet. Exception: Branch circuits serving only lighting loads may be calculated per article 220 of the NEC.

(b) 210.11 (C) Dwelling units. See this section of the NEC except as provided below.
(i) (1) Small appliance branch circuits. See this section of the NEC and add: not more than four (4) 20 ampere 125 volt receptacle outlets shall be connected to these circuits. Single and duplex receptacle outlets are considered to be one receptacle outlet. Exception: small appliance circuits that supply only dining area receptacles may serve not more than six (6) receptacle outlets.

(ii) (2) Laundry branch circuits. Delete the text of this section of the NEC and substitute: in addition to the number of branch circuits required by other parts of this section, at least one additional 20-ampere branch circuit shall be provided to supply the laundry receptacle outlet. Such circuits shall have no other outlets.

(3) Section 210.19 Conductors - minimum ampacity and size. See this section of the NEC except as follows:
(A) Branch circuits not more than 1000 volts:
(a) General. See this section and add: conductors for branch circuits shall be sized to prevent excessive voltage drop.

(b) Branch circuits with more than one receptacle. Conductors of general-purpose branch circuits supplying more than one receptacle outlet for cord-and-plug connected portable loads shall have an ampacity of not less than the rating of the branch circuit and shall be not less than 12 AWG CU or 10 AWG CU-CLAD.

(4) Section 210.52 Dwelling unit receptacle outlets. See this section of the NEC except as follows:
(a) Section 210.52 (A)(2) Wall space. See this section and add: Exception: free-standing cabinets designed to be used as an eating or drinking bar where stools or chairs are pulled up to a counter top which extends at least one (1) foot from the front of the cabinet, shall not be considered as wall space.

(b) Section 210.52 (C)(2) Island and peninsular countertops and work surfaces. See this section of the NEC except as follows: Section 210.52(C)(2) subsection (a) delete this subsection and replace with the following: Island countertop spaces. At least one (1) receptacle shall be installed at each island countertop space with a long dimension of 600 mm (24 in.) or greater and a short dimension of 300 mm (12in.) or greater.

(c) Section 210.52 (G) Basement, garages, and accessory buildings. See this section of the NEC and add: receptacle outlets must be installed a minimum of eighteen (18) inches above finished floor, in attached or detached garages.

(5) Section 210.70 Lighting outlets required. See this section of the NEC except as follows: Section 210.70 (A)(2) Dwelling units. See this section of the NEC and add a new subsection as follows: (d) on single family dwellings at least one wall switch, located within five (5) feet from each entrance or exit or automatic lighting control such as a motion detector shall be installed to control exterior illumination.

B. Article 215. Feeders. See this article of the NEC except as provided below: Section 215.1. Scope. See this section of the NEC and add: approved wiring methods for feeders: nonmetallic-sheathed cable types NM, NMC and NMS (Article 334), and service entrance cable type SER (Article 338), shall be permitted to be used for feeders in dwelling units providing that the cables shall not pass through or under any other dwelling unit(s). Underground feeder and branch circuit cable type UF cable (Article 340) shall be permitted to be used underground for any occupancy, and indoors only in accordance with nonmetallic-sheathed cable (Article 334) providing that the cable shall not pass through or under any other dwelling unit(s).

C. Article 225. Outside branch circuits and feeders. See this article of the NEC except as follows.

(1) Section 225.19 Clearance from buildings for conductors of not over 1000 volts, nominal. See this section of the NEC except as follows: Section 225.19(A) Above roofs. See this section of the NEC but delete exception number two (2) in its entirety.

(2) Section 225.32 Location. Delete this section of the NEC and replace with the following: The disconnecting means shall be installed either inside or outside of the building or structure served. The disconnecting means shall be a readily accessing location and comply with one of the following:
(1) Where the disconnecting means is located outside the building or structure served, the disconnecting means enclosure shall be installed within ten (10) feet from the building or structure and visible, or on the exterior wall of the building or structure served.

(2) Where the disconnecting means is installed inside the building or structure served, the disconnecting means enclosure shall be located within forty-eight (48) inches from where the feeder conductor raceway enters the building or structure.

Exception No. 1 - see this section of the NEC.

Exception No. 2 - see this section of the NEC.

Exception No. 3 - see this section of the NEC.

Exception No. 4 - see this section of the NEC.

D. Article 230. Services. See this article of the NEC except as provided below.

(1) Section 230.24 Clearances. See this section of the NEC except as provided below:
(A) Above roofs. Delete exception no. 2 and exception no. 5 in their entirety.

(2) Section 230.28. Service masts as supports. See this section of the NEC and add: where a service mast is used for the support of service drop conductors, it shall be a minimum two inch (2") rigid metal conduit, intermediate metal conduit or must comply with local utility requirements.

(3) Section 230.31 Size and ampacity. See this section of the NEC except as provided below:
(A) General. See this section of the NEC and add: where the underground service lateral is customer owned, the service lateral conductors shall be sized to prevent excessive voltage drop. The maximum voltage drop on the service lateral conductors shall not exceed five percent (5%). For the purpose of this calculation, the ampacity shall be based on the calculated demand load of the building or structure served. Customer owned includes all non-utility owned or operated service lateral conductors.

(4) Section 230.43. Wiring methods for 1000 volts, nominal, or less. See this section of the NEC but delete subsection (1) open wiring on insulators, and subsection (6), Electrical nonmetallic tubing (ENT).

(5) Section 230.54 Overhead service locations. See this section of the NEC and add a new section as follows: (H) overhead service support shall comply with the serving utility requirements or be at least six inch by six inch (6" x 6") pressure-treated timber or equivalent round poles (minimum 6" diameter crown) installed to a depth not less than four (4) feet below finish grade.

(6) Section 230.70 Service equipment - disconnecting means.
(a) 230.70 General.
(A) Location. See this section of the NEC and add: the disconnecting means for each occupant of a multiple occupancy building shall be grouped at a common location.

(b) 230.70 General.
(A) Location.
(1) Readily accessible location. Delete the text of this section of the NEC and substitute:
(i) Service disconnects located outside the building or structure. Where theservice disconnect is located outside of the building or structure it shall be located in a readily accessible location within 48 inches of the metering equipment. Remote service disconnects that are located not more than 10 feet from the building or structure shall be considered to be located on the building or structure.

Exception: Where metering equipment is installed at the utility transformer, the disconnecting means on the outside of the building shall be installed within 48 inches from where the service conductors emerge from the earth.

(ii) Service disconnects located inside the building or structure. Where the service disconnect is located inside of a building or structure it shall be located in a readily accessible location within 48 inches from the metering equipment or the service equipment enclosure shall be installed within 48 inches of where the service conductors penetrate the building or structure.

(7) Section 230.72 Grouping of disconnects.
(A) General. See this section of the NEC and add: all building or structure disconnects of each service shall be grouped at one location and shall be separated by the least practical distance, within sight of each other and not to exceed an overall distance of fifty (50) feet.

E. Article 250 - Grounding and bonding. See this article of the NEC except as provided below.

(1) Section 250.50 Grounding electrode system. See this section of the NEC and add: on new construction, aconcrete encased electrode shall be considered available and installed in compliance with NEC 250.52(A) (3). If a concrete encased electrode is not present, then at least 20 feet of 2 AWG bare copper in direct contact with the earth at a depth below the earth's surface of not less than thirty (30) inches shall be installed in a continuous trench that is at least twenty (20) feet in length, augmented with a minimum of two (2), eight (8) foot grounds rods one at each end of the 2 AWG conductor.

(2) Section 250.52 (A) Grounding electrodes. (5) Rod and pipe electrodes. See this section of the NEC but delete subsection (a) in its entirety.

(3) Section 250.53 (A) (2) See this section of the NEC and add the following exception: Exception No. 2 See this section of the NEC and add: A single grounding electrode consisting of a rod or plate may be utilized on temporary construction services rated 200 amperes or less.

(4) Section 250.66 Size of alternating-current grounding electrode conductor. (B) Connections to concrete-encased electrodes. See this section of the NEC and add the following to the end: The grounding electrode conductor shall not be smaller than 4 AWG copper.

(5) Section 250.104. Bonding of piping systems and exposed structural steel. (B) Other metal piping. See this section of the NEC and add: CSST gas piping systems shall be bonded to the electrical service grounding electrode system at the point where the gas service enters the building. The bonding jumper shall not be smaller than (6) AWG copper wire.

(6) Section 250.106. Lightning protection systems. See this section of the NEC and add: Where a lightning protection system is installed, the bonding of the gas piping system shall be in accordance with NFPA 780, standard for installation of lightning protection systems.

(7) Section 250.118. Types of equipment grounding conductors. See this section of the NEC and add the following new subsection: (15) an equipment grounding conductor shall be installed in all branch circuit and feeder raceways on or above a roof. The equipment grounding conductor shall be a wire type sized in accordance with table 250.122.

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