Any type of wiring or wiring systems may be used in the city as approved in the National Electrical Code adopted in Section 502 of this code, except where specifically provided herein.
Refer to Section 403 of the Building Code for high-rise building requirements and to Chapter 46 of the Building Code for the Sign Code.
All changes in the service standards and area practices that are promulgated by the electric utility company shall be submitted to the Electrical Board for review and comment at least 30 calendar days prior to enactment.
For the purposes of this code, the distribution system of any electric, telephone, telegraph, signal and/or electric utility company shall not extend to any electrical apparatus or equipment that the company does not own or control.
If a licensed or registered contractor needs access to metering and service equipment under control of an electric utility company to perform certain electrical work, the electric utility company must unlock and/or make accessible all metering and service equipment within four hours of the time the contractor requests the action, if possible. Licensed or registered contractors may access metering and service equipment.
In case of conflict between the provisions of the standards listed in the above paragraphs and the provisions of this code, the provisions of this code shall prevail.
The meter cabinets and electrical metering equipment through which service is rendered by the electric utility company to domestic establishments and buildings combining domestic establishments with commercial or industrial usage shall be installed where readily accessible on the exterior of the building. Fireproof meter cabinets or meter sockets shall be approved by the electric utility company and installed by the master electrician performing the work, said meter cabinets to be located so the center of the opening of the meter dial shall not be less than 5 feet (1524 mm) nor more than 6 feet (1829 mm) above mean ground level so that the cabinet is readily accessible to the electric utility company for service. On apartment buildings, where space limitations will not permit placing all meters at the same height, they may be arranged in two tiers, with the openings for the meter dials in lower tiers as near as practicable to 5 feet (1524 mm) above the mean ground level and second tier placed as near as practicable above the first. Where space limitations will not permit placing of meter cabinets as outlined above, the electric utility company, subject to the approval of the building official, may determine the arrangement to be used. All service outlets shall be located so as to permit placing the electric utility company's service wires on the wall of the building next to the supply. Locations may also be modified with the approval of the building official for occupancies intended primarily for handicapped persons.
Meters will be located on a building so as to be accessible as determined by the electric utility company and may only be placed on the front or street side of the building with the written consent of the owners filed with the building official.
Where meter loops are installed in inaccessible places in houses or buildings and the electric utility company desires to relocate said meter loops for convenience in the rendering of its service, it may, upon request to the building official, have a licensed or registered contractor reinstall meter loops to a point where the same would be located if the house or building were having a new system of wiring installed, and all the work done at the request of the electric utility company shall be performed without cost to the owner unless the location is the result of the wiring having been condemned by the building official for practices in violation of the provisions of this code or any applicable city ordinance.
No permit, certificate or other authorization issued by the city under the provisions of this code for the construction or occupancy of a new apartment house or conversion to a condominium shall be issued unless the construction plan submitted by the applicant as part of the process for the approval of the permit, certificate or other authorization provides for individual electric metering by the utility company or submetering by the owner of each dwelling unit for the measurement of the quantity of electricity, if any, consumed by the occupants within that dwelling unit in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 184 of the Texas Utilities Code and regulations issued thereunder.