The National Electrical Safety Code (NESC) is the national standard for safety in the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of electric utility systems. The 2023 edition of the NESC was published on August 1, 2022 and is now in effect in most U.S. jurisdictions.

Even if compliance with the NESC is not legally enforced, employees of utilities, as well as their consultants and contractors have a moral responsibility to design, construct, operate and maintain electric and communication systems in a safe manner. When incidents involving utility systems cause death, injury, and property damage, litigation is often based on claims of non-compliance with the NESC.

Program Highlights

NESC Orientation: Abstract and forward, brief historical context, organization and contents, interpretations, related publications, and applicability of the NESC to utility supply and communication systems.

Significant rules and changes in the 2023 Edition of the NESC

• Section 1: Introduction
• Section 2: Definitions of special terms
• Section 3: References
• NESC Compliance and Risk Management

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this program, you will be able to:

• Explain the purpose, scope, history, organization and application of the NESC.
• Apply and communicate with others about significant changes in the 2023 Edition Sections 1, 2, and 3.
• Recognize the risks of non-compliance with the NESC and better meet the accountabilities for safety that are applicable to your organization and your work.

Who Will Benefit from this Program

Anyone who works as an employee of an electric utility, consulting engineering firm, and construction or maintenance contractor, and who is responsible for work on electric utility transmission and distribution systems will benefit from this program. The program content is presented at a practical level and is appropriate for degreed professionals, as well as skilled craft personnel, field supervisors and non-degreed high school graduates with a general knowledge of the electric utility system.

This course does not have prerequisites and does not require advance preparation; however, familiarity with the NESC will be helpful in gaining a more in-depth understanding of the code changes and their ramifications.

This course is approximately 3 hours in length with 3.0 Professional Development Hours (PDHs) or .3 CEU’s.  

Cost: $295.00/student. Companies with 3 or more students will be given a discount. Please email sarah.spencer@pine.edu for details.

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Course Overview

Course leaders will present an overview of electric and telecommunication line joint use including benefits, historical and regulatory context and current trends. They will also describe management and engineering “best practices” which, with proper application, can result in line designs that are safer, more reliable, and in compliance with the requirements of the National Electrical Safety Code (NESC) and professional engineering laws and regulations.  

Course Features:  

• Up-to date Information 
• Survey Questions & Q&A 

• Practical examples of joint-use installations 
• Actionable recommendations to improve your joint use practices 

Course Content 

This course is approximately 4 hours and 4.0 Professional Development Hours (PDHs) or .4CEU’s. It will cover:  It will cover: 

• Utility line joint use 

• Industry trends in wireline and wireless pole attachments 
• Regulatory structure for joint-use utility lines 
• Common issues and risks 
• Management & best practices 
• Elements of effective join-use agreements and processes 

• Engineering principles and ethics 
• Electric supply and communication line components 
• Compliance with NESC clearance, spacing & strength requirements 

Cost: $295.00/student. Companies with 3 or more students will be given a discount. Please email sarah.spencer@pine.edu for details.

Register

This program is designed to present a non-technical overview of the electric utility industry in its operating and business management context. Learn about the regulatory structure and competitive aspects of the electric utility industry. Explore the system infrastructure from power grid to meter, its operation, performance and development. Familiarize yourself with the strategic issues and trends that are impacting local electric utilities and challenging the traditional utility business model.

PDH or CEU’s will be awarded.

Course Features:

• Session 1:
• Electric Utility Regulations & Business Models
  • The utility regulatory structure
  • Why and how utility regulation has changed
  • Utility ownership types & business structures
  • New wholesale retail market operations
• The Regional Generation & Transmission Grid
  • Electric generation types & operating characteristics
  • Key components of national and regional transmission grid
  • Grid operation, reliability & security
• Session 2:
• The Local Retail Electric System
  • Substations
  • Overhead & underground lines
  • System operation, monitoring & protection
  • Strategies for interconnection of distributed generation

Who Should Take this Course

This program has value for those who work in and with electric utilities, including those without a technical background:

• New utility employees who are unfamiliar with the electric utility industry
• Experienced utility employees who want to broaden their knowledge
• Utility managers of all levels who need to understand the regulatory, business and technical context in which they make decisions
• Governing board members of municipal and cooperative electric utilities
• Electric utility customers
• Electric utility industry regulators, consultants & vendors

This course is approximately 6 hours in length (2 3-hour sessions) with 6.0 Professional Development Hours (PDHs) or .6 CEU’s.  

Cost: $600.00/student. Companies with 3 or more students will be given a discount. Please email sarah.spencer@pine.edu for details.

Register

R. John Miner, Tom Black, Erich Schoennagel and Ted Dimberio are effective and experienced adult education instructors with extensive electric utility engineering, operations, safety and management experience. All four have worked with the NESC throughout their careers. Collaborative Learning (CL) has delivered NESC programs to a wide range of audiences throughout the U.S for more than 25 years.

R. John Miner, P.E. is an accomplished  executive manager and educator with over forty-five years of experience in the electric utility industry.  He is president of Collaborative Learning, Inc. of Austin and San Antonio, Texas, a firm that presents management and technical education programs and, through Collaboration Unlimited, provides management consulting services to the electric utility industry.  John’s technical seminars and workshops for utilities have covered such topics as application of the National Electrical Safety Code (NESC), overhead and underground distribution systems, electric system planning, construction, operations, and maintenance.  John earned a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering (with honors), and a Master of Science degree in engineering science, both from the University of Toledo.  John is a Senior Life Member of the IEEE and is a registered Professional Engineer in the states of Texas and Minnesota.

Tom Black, P.E is an accomplished engineer and executive manager who works with Collaborative Learning as a technical consultant and continuing education program developer and instructor. Tom has more than thirty-five (35) years of experience in the electric and gas utility industries including employment with both municipal and Investor-owned utilities. Tom teaches courses on such topics as electrical distribution principles, overhead and underground distribution systems, the NESC, electric system planning, construction, operations, and maintenance. Tom earned his bachelor’s degree from Washington University in St. Louis (with honors) and is a registered professional engineer in the states of Colorado and Arizona. He is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

Ted Dimberio, P.E. is currently President and CFO of Utility Line President of Line Design University. He has 40 years experience in distribution line design and has worked for rural electric cooperatives and consulting firms.

Ted has been an industry leader in developing engineering software for electric distribution utilities that auto-generates profile drawings and required line design calculations to verify and document engineering decisions, and provide long-term engineering documentation.

Ted received his civil and structural engineering education from Mesabi State Junior College and the University of Minnesota. Ted is a licensed professional engineer in the states of Minnesota and Wisconsin.

All training programs are delivered over the internet and provide several sample and practice problems. You will obtain access to each purchased training program for two months once your registration is complete. You will receive a confirmation email with instructions on how to set up your Star ID and password. It is critical to keep this information. You will be prompted to use your Star ID and password to access course material.  

Line Design Professionals seeking AULDP certification must successfully pass examinations for each Basic Skill and Line Design Function competency. Prior to taking the examinations, line designers must meet the line design work experience requirements.  

Each competency examination is 1-2 hours long and can be accessed through the link below after you complete your registration. Examination cost does not include any re-take examination. Examinations are taken at the utility office, are closed book and must be supervised by the engineering or human resource manager. Participants will be immediately notified if they passed or failed upon completion. AULDP will send a certificate for each level successfully completed. You will be allowed to include the AULDP designated Credential after your name.  

Overall Line Design Accountabilities and Best Practices 

• Areas of liability exposure through the use of prevailing distribution line design practices 

• Measures that can reduce liability exposure and assure compliance with NESC requirements 
• Provisions of the 2017 NESC that are applicable to overhead line design 
• How to develop and use documented design criteria and design/construction standards 
• The Line design process and how to improve it 
• How to establish and sustain effective design/quality control and inspection practice 

Elements of Line Design and Best Practices 

• How to develop and use conductor sag and tension charts 
• How to perform commonly encountered line design calculations 
• How to create line profile drawings and engineering reports 
• How to implement a uniform procedure to prepare electric supply and telecommunication joint use designs 

• How to maintain engineering records for long-term documentation 
• How to implement procedures for the identification, documentation and correction of existing NESC violations 

To register, please contact Sarah Spencer at 320.629.5176 or sarah.spencer@pine.edu with your desired courses. You will be provided with a link to register online.   

You will obtain access to each purchased training program for two months once your registration is complete. You will receive a confirmation email with instructions on how to set up your Star ID and password. It is critical to keep this information. You will be prompted to use your Star ID and password to access course material. 

Ted Dimberio is currently President and CFO of Utility Line President of Line Design University. He has 40 years experience in distribution line design and has worked for rural electric cooperatives and consulting firms.

Ted has been an industry leader in developing engineering software for electric distribution utilities that auto-generates profile drawings and required line design calculations to verify and document engineering decisions, and provide long-term engineering documentation.

Ted received his civil and structural engineering education from Mesabi State Junior College and the University of Minnesota. Ted is a licensed professional engineer in the states of Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Program questions can be sent directly to Ted at ted@utlitylinedesign.com.