Questions about COC

General Discussions
1

When I bought the house I currently live in I got a COC number B518413.

When the PV was installed I got given a supplementary COC on which the signatory, amongst other declarations, declares that he is responsible for the design and construction of the system. This certificate is clearly indicated as a supplement to B518413.

In January the house was rewired and extra sockets were added. No changes were made to the PV nor to the wiring between the PV and the main DB.

Thd electrician issued a new COC that indicates there is an alternate power source. This COC is numbered NM1203630.

So do I need a new supplementary COC? Now, for insurance and in case anybody else wants to inspect? A supplement to NM1203630?

Should the property be transferred, do I need to get the PV system recertified and can the electrician who issues the new COC include everything in one COC?

Looking at the supplement it seems to only cover the AC output side of the PV system.

I have the various documents drawn up for SSEG registration including the line drawing. Do they have any relevance here?

TIA

2

Hmmmm…

First of all the whole AC sub-DB for the PV was changed by the installer. The same number of breakers, SPDs etc with the same rating were in the new DB.

Subsequent to that board being replaced, a socket was added to give the prepaid meter a direct connection to the municipal supply. This is adjacent to the inverter, and it has a breaker in the sub-DB for the output side of the inverter (the sub-DB) that was replaced.

3

COCs are the bane of my existance as no two electricians do it the same and in most cases they do it wrong.

The COC should works as such:

  • Initial to be issued when the system is installed.
    Initial COC should have more than just 2 pages as it should have detailed diagrams of the electrical system etc. This is rarely done.
  • Supplemental (No. 1) should be issued (and reference to Initial) when PV system is installed.
    Here you need the following on that COC: Description of work done, PV system installed specifications, at least 2x test reports (one with mains on and one on just alternative supply), SSEG Test report should be considered here as well.
  • New work done: Supplemental (called Supplemental No 2), this supplemental must refer to the initial COC. It can also exclude works that was done in supplemental 1 (by stating so on the test report).

If the electrician raises an Initial he takes FULL responsibility of the entire electrical system, which includes the SSEG installation. Then he MUST describe it in full on the COC. If it was not described in full then you might want him to change his initial COC to Supplemental and refer to the original COC.

Any and all drawings, documents, invoices etc should form part of your COC portfolio of evidence (or rather the electrician’s). As I say to the guys who work with me, the COC is the electrician’s ultimate cover-your-ass document and should not be an after thought.

4

You know this is scaring some guys off? But then I don’t think there’s a rule compelling any given electrician to issue COCs. But, as you say, some don’t know the rules.

The guy who did the PV install rewired the whole DB - well they had to do the split and they replaced all the breakers whilst they were at it. But they only gave a supplemental COC.

At this time I had a go to electrician. He redid the DB again. Didn’t change the wiring other than moving the heatpump onto the backed up side. But he didn’t like the breakers (Chint) that the installer had used. Said insurance wouldn’t pay because they’re Chinese.

So he put in another brand which said “made in China” all over them (Onesto), moved the heat pump to the backed up side (at my request) and downgraded the breaker on the cooker circuit since we had a gas stove and so the load was reduced.

But no COC, which is what I wanted at the end of the day. Said he was tired of being legally responsible. He also told me that the PV system is regarded as an “appliance” for certification purposes. Which sounded odd to me, but what do I know?

The guy who did the rewire told me he’s also getting fed up because he does everything according to the book, and the moment he’s gone some cowboy changes stuff and then things start going pop and the client gets cross with him. So he takes before and after photos of everything he does and everything he finds (and he tells you he will) and then if you complain the first thing he does is send you the after photos and says that if anything has changed then you can go fly a kite.

I don’t believe the most recent guy is anything but decent. We both figured out about the same time that he had underquoted. I called him, said I would not have anything above the original quote until payday, but he said that he gave a written quote and so he’s sticking to that. Very decent of him.

But you see where all of this leaves people like me? We get people in and have to accept their word. The wiring in this house was a mess when I bought it, despite their being a COC. The seller got cross because she thought I was accusing her of dishonesty. I said no, you’ve been badly served by people you trusted.

She then sent her electrician out. I called and thanked her but said it’s OK, it’s my house now, and my electrician and please let me do the paying. I also told her that her electrician is not an electrician in South Africa. He is in Mozambique & Portugal but not here. He was very open about this. I also noticed that his was not the name on the COC. He said well he can’t issue one because he’s not an electrician here. But he knows a guy who just writes them out for you.

This ended up with me phoning the ECB and making a complaint. They called me back to say he just sits in an office writing out COCs for anybody who asks, for a fee, but they’d put a stop to this.

So it looks like I still don’t have the COC issue straight. So I am going to have to get a guy in who can do the whole thing. At least I have the drawings and the test results from the SSEG registration process.

I’m actually fairly confident that all the wiring is sound, but I don’t want to find myself exposed in the future because I don’t have the right bits of paper.

Thanks for your detailed reply.

5

There is actually, the Electrical Installation Regulations makes it quite clear. There is a “shall” in there in regards to a COC after ANY electrical work done…

This is correct, as long as all the work is quoted on the COC and the before/after photos etc are also captured as proof.

Chint I think is better than Onesto, unless he used Onesto Industrial (which he wouldn’t).

This is at best a misrepresentation of regulation or complete incompetence towards it, which is scary to say the least. While he is correct regarding the inverter, that is seen as appliance, but all the work surrounding it (Including DC installation) needs to be signed off and captured in the COCs.

He could have done another Supplementary COC for the breaker replacement and that would have been the only thing he had to put on the COC to make his work legal.

This is the right way to do it and shows you the importance of a correct method of compiling your portfolio of evidence as electrician.

When you do get a guy then you need to quiz him and make sure he understands what you want at the end of the day, you don’t want a 2-page COC, you want the full portfolio of evidence and each part of the installation described either in writing or via drawings.

Multiple test reports per Distribution board, SSEG Test report for good measure, etc etc.

As you say, where does this leave the ordinary individual? In a very very difficult position. The problem is there is no enforcement of the regulations. ECB doesn’t have any authority, ECA(SA) also have limited enforcement ability and both organisations can only “police” their own registered people.

Department of Labour must act, but this takes a long time and costs the client quite a bit to get the correct people out to do assessments on their behalf etc.

Good luck with the COC journey, I hope you do get someone who is very clued up and can provide the correct paperwork in the end.