Our History
The Electrical Safety Council has come a long way since it was established as the National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting in 1956. The National Inspection Council was in turn created from the National Register of Electrical Contractors, established in 1923, an organisation set up to provide protection for electricity consumers against unsafe electrical installations and appliances.
Significant events in our history:
- 1956
- NICEIC set up
- 1959
- First NICEIC newsletter published
- 1970s
- Around 18,000 separate electrical installations inspected each year
- 1971
- NICEIC is registered as a charity
- 1983
- First computer introduced into NICEIC Head Office
- 1986
- NICEIC Head Office moves to Vintage House, London
- 1988
- NICEIC forms NQA, National Quality Assurance
- 1992
- 16th Edition of IEE Wiring Regulations adopted as British Standard
- 1998
- NICEIC Roll published on CD-ROM and website
- 2000
- NICEIC becomes a UKAS accredited certification body
- 2002
- Technical Manual launched
- 2005
- Electrical Safety Council set up to carry out the charitable objectives of the National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting. NICEIC Group Ltd formed to carry out the commercial aspects of the National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting.
- 2006
- Electrical Safety Council sets up its offices in Buckingham Gate, London
Regulations
Requirements for safe wiring date back to 1876 when Mr Musgrave Heaphy, an engineer with the Phoenix Assurance Company, started investigating the possible fire risks from the installations of electrical systems. In June 1882, the Society of Telegraph Engineers and Electricians, which later became the Institution of Electrical Engineers, published the Rules and Regulations for the Prevention of Fire Risks arising from Electric Lighting. This first edition of the IEE Wiring Regulations was a simple four-page document, but has now become the technical standard for all installers carrying out electrical installation work. In 1991 it became British Standard 7671: Requirements for Electrical Installations.
