Carte Blanche expose on electrical contractors

As you are possibly aware, on 3 July 2011 Carte Blanche aired a segment on electrical contractors.

It would appear that many members are under the impression that the ECA (SA) was involved in the selection criteria, and that parts of the show were "fixed", thereby resulting in good publicity for Electric Mann. You have our absolute assurance that this is incorrect as we were not informed in advance which electrical contractors had been called in by Carte Blanche to attend to the fault, which was deliberately created in the installation.

In so far as the ECA(SA)'s involvement is concerned we wish to place on record the following facts.

When we were approached by Nicky Troll of Carte Blanche and asked to assist with and participate in the programme, she advised us that she was not going to disclose the names of the contractors chosen for fear of us informing them and thus defeating the purpose of their investigation. They in fact randomly selected seven electrical contractors from the Yellow Pages and the Berea Mail and called them to the flat with a request that they trace the source of a tripping earth leakage unit.

We specifically requested that they choose only unregistered "pirate" contractors, but they refused on the grounds that they wished to test the reliability of any electrical contractor advertising their services to the public.

Bernie Carr of A & B Electrical was asked to create in the flat a fault which could be easily diagnosed. This he did by merely disconnecting the neutral conductor from the stove which was left touching on the stove's chassis. This of course resulted in the earth leakage unit tripping every time the stove was turned on. Bernie did this on a voluntary basis.

The owner of the flat then called in the selected electrical contractors and asked them to attend to the tripping problem. Two traced and repaired the fault; one disconnected the earth leakage unit to eliminate the fault without finding out why it was tripping; one replaced the earth leakage unit and cut off four conductor wires to get them to fit into the terminal; and the other two failed completely in tracing the fault and indicated that the problem was serious and expensive remedial work and repairs were necessary.

The programme was recorded over a number of days and neither Bernie nor I were present when the contractors initially went to the flat to attend to the problem. I was interviewed on the final day just before some of the contractors were called back to the flat to explain what they had done. Immediately prior to my interview I was asked to check which of the contractors was registered with the ECB. Bernie remained at the premises to participate in the interviews with the errant contractors. That was the first time that either of us got to know who the involved contractors were.

It must be remembered that Carte Blanche is a longstanding investigative programme with enormous credibility. It would not, therefore, ever become involved in anything untoward. In addition, the ECA(SA) has established its own credibility over the past 60 years and would never be party to favouring one member over another. Of this you have my absolute assurance. The fact that Electric Mann was selected by Carte Blanche was totally coincidental, and it should be complimented for getting through the "scam" with flying colours.

There have been a lot of adverse and incorrect comments about the programme and these are addressed as follows:

Although the distribution board was above the kitchen cupboard (it is an old flat), the distribution board has been replaced at some time and the main switch-disconnector has been mounted less than 2,2 m above floor level (see 6.6.1.6 of the code). It could be clearly seen in the film as could the sprag leading from the DB to the main switch.
The stove was connected to a cooker unit which incorporates a socket outlet. Clause 6.16.3.2.3 of the Code reads:
''A cooking appliance circuit may also supply one socket-outlet if the rating of the socket outlet does not exceed 16 A and if the following are contained in one control unit –

a) the socket outlet;
b) an earth leakage protection devise including overcurrent protection for protecting the socket outlet; and
c) the switch disconnector required for the cooking appliance (see 6.16.1)

Note: The socket outlet has to be protected against earth leakage so, unless the protection device (see (b) above) is in the control unit, the entire cooking appliance circuit has to be protected against earth leakage."

In view of the above, the derogatory comments that have been made by a number of electrical contractors are unfounded. The stove had to be protected against earth leakage, and the fact that it is an appliance does not detract from this requirement. The "fault" was created in the stove because it was quick and easy to disconnect the conductor prior to each contractor calling into the premises. It also ensured that each was confronted with exactly the same fault. Those who are critical of the programme seem to be under the impression that if a fault exists on an appliance it is not the responsibility of the electrical contractor to rectify it, or worse still that the provisions of the code do not apply.

Many other issues were covered during the recording of the programme, including the right of the public to demand proof of registration with the ECB, and the fact that by using an ECA(SA) member the client is covered by a R15 000 guarantee. However, these were removed in the editing process because the expose was limited to some 10 minutes of viewing.

I trust that this explanation clears up any misconceptions that may have arisen, and exonerates the ECA from any accusations of being biased in any way. It also shows that everyone of us must make sure that what we are doing is correct and in accordance with the regulations and code because you never know who is watching you.

Chris Greager
National Director : Operations
Electrical Contractors' Association (South Africa)