Omaha Mayor Vetoes Electrical Code Changes Following NAHB’s Suggestions

The mayor of Omaha, Neb., recently vetoed a city council ordinance adopting the 2023 National Electrical Code (NEC) unamended. After the council failed to override the veto, the city will follow the state in adopting an amended 2023 NEC that rolls back an unnecessary expansion of ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) requirements.

This is a significant development for home builders in the city as the 2023 NEC expanded requirements for GFCI protection for appliance outlets and increased surge protection.

Nebraska, like several other states, had adopted an amended version of the 2023 NEC that removed many of these requirements. During Omaha City Council meetings on the ordinance, local home builders used materials in NAHB’s 2023 NEC Adoption Kit to argue against full adoption without amendments.

NAHB always weighs the costs and benefits of proposed code changes before taking a position. The additional cost of the GFCI and surge protection requirements in the 2023 NEC is around $500 per home. But there is another concern with the GFCI requirements that must be addressed before widespread adoption: nuisance tripping.

The 2020 NEC included a provision for GFCI protection for a home’s air conditioning condenser unit. This led to widespread issues with tripping, as condensers and GFCI breakers were not designed with compatibility in mind. Similar issues were also observed in ranges connected to a GFCI outlet.

The 2023 NEC also included requirements for GFCI protection on outlets serving 240-volt appliances. But NAHB argues that the tripping issues have not yet been resolved. In fact, the publishers of the NEC agreed to delay the enforcement of the 2020 requirement until September 2026 to give manufacturers time to engineer a solution.

NAHB and allied stakeholders on the NEC panel overseeing receptacles have argued against unworkable provisions such as these GFCI requirements, citing both cost and incompatibility between breakers and equipment. Unfortunately, device manufacturers exert a strong influence on the panel’s decisions. States have responded to the resulting challenges by amending the code at adoption or waiting for the next cycle to adopt.