Electrical Installation Regulations, 1992

2. Responsibility for electrical installations

1) The user or lessor of an electrical installation, as the case may be, shall be responsible for the safety, safe use and maintenance of the electrical installation he uses or leases.

2) The user or lessor of an electrical installation, as the case may be, shall be responsible for the safety of the conductors connecting the electrical installation to the point of supply in the case where the point of supply is not the point of control.

3. Certificate of Compliance

1) Subject to the provisions of subregulation (3), every user or lessor of an electrical installation, as the case may be, shall have a valid certificate of compliance in respect of every such installation:

Provided that where any addition or alteration has been effected to an electrical installation for which a certificate of compliance was previously issued, the user or lessor of such an installation shall obtain either a certificate of compliance for such an addition or alteration or a new certificate of compliance for the whole installation:

Provided further that such certificate shall be transferable.

2) Every user or lessor of an electrical installation, as the case may be, shall on request produce the certificate of compliance for that installation to an inspector or the supplier.

3) Subregulation (1) shall not apply to electrical installations existing prior to the coming into force of these regulations:

Provided that, if -

  1. any addition or alteration is effected to such an installation; or
  2. there is a change of ownership of the premises on which such an installation exists after 1 January 1994, the user or lessor of the electrical installation, as the case may be, shall obtain a certificate of compliance for the whole installation, whereafter the provisions of subregulation (1) shall be applicable to such installation.

4) A supplier may at any reasonable time inspect or test any electrical installation:

Provided that the supplier shall not charge any fee for such inspection or test unless the inspection or test is carried out at the request of the user or lessor.

5) If after an inspector or a supplier has carried out an inspection or test he detects any fault or defect in any electrical installation, such inspector or supplier may require the user or lessor of that installation to obtain a new certificate of compliance:

Provided that if such fault or defect in the opinion of the inspector or the supplier constitutes an immediate danger to persons, the inspector or the supplier shall forthwith take steps to have the supply to the circuit in which the fault or defect was detected disconnected:

Provided further that where the fault or defect is of such a nature that it may indicate negligence on the part of an accredited person, the Inspector or the supplier, as the case may be, shall forthwith report those circumstances in writing to the chief inspector.

4. Construction

1) No person shall install or permit or require the installation of an electrical installation, other than in accordance with a safety standard incorporated into these regulations under section 36 of the Act:

Provided that items of an electrical installation not covered by such safety standard and the conductors between the point of supply and the point of control shall be installed in accordance with the by-laws or regulations of the supplier concerned.

2) Except in the case of electrical installations supplied by a single phase electricity supply at the point of supply, an accredited person shall exercise general control over all electrical installation work being carried out and no person shall allow such work without such control.

3) No supplier shall restrict the application of a safety standard referred to in subregulation (1) when an electrical installation is installed, except where the distribution system of the supplier may be adversely affected by the application thereof.

5. Electrical contractor

1) Any person, including a juristic person, who intends to do installation work as an electrical contractor shall annually register with the Electrical Contracting Board of South Africa.

2) The Electrical Contracting Board of South Africa shall, free of charge, register as an electrical contractor and enter in a register kept for that purpose the name of any person who applies therefore in terms of subregulation (1) and who -