The following opinion is presented on-line for informational use only and does not replace the official version. (Mich Dept of Attorney General Web Site - www.ag.state.mi.us) STATE OF MICHIGAN FRANK J. KELLEY, ATTORNEY GENERAL Opinion No. 6694 August 6, 1991 ELECTRIC UTILITY: Installation of load management control switches A Michigan utility is not required to use licensed electricians (either employees or outside contractors) to perform installation of load management control switches on the service side of the customer's meter or to obtain electrical permits and have inspections for each installation. Honorable John D. Pridnia State Senator The Capitol Lansing, Michigan You have asked the following question: Is a Michigan utility required to use licensed electricians (either employees or outside contractors) to perform installation of load management control switches on the service side of the customer's meter and to obtain electrical permits and have inspections for each installation? The circumstances which have prompted this query concern a planned project of Wolverine Power Supply Cooperative, Inc. This utility company has developed a load management system designed to reduce the supply of electrical energy during peak demand periods to participating customers. This will result in a correspondingly reduced rate for electricity for those households. As planned, the company intends to utilize employees or outside contractors to install the required equipment. The load management control switches would be owned and operated by the utility company. The question arises whether these installers must hold an electrician's license. The Electrical Administrative Act, 1956 PA 217; MCL 338.881 et seq; MSA 18.204(1) et seq, provides for the licensing of electricians and electrical contractors. The relevant licensure and licensure exemption provisions of the Electrical Administrative Act have not been superseded by any inconsistent provisions of the State Construction Code Act of 1972, MCL 125.1501 et seq; MSA 5.2949(1) et seq. See section 28 of the State Construction Code Act of 1972. Section 5 of the Electrical Administrative Act provides: Sec. 5. Except as permitted in section 7, it shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to install any electric wiring, devices, appliances or appurtenances for the generation, distribution and utilization of electrical energy, within or on any building, structures or properties, without being duly licensed. In a municipality where inspection service is provided a permit shall be obtained from the board or municipality having jurisdiction. [Emphasis added.] Section 7 of the same statute provides, in pertinent part: Sec. 7. No person, firm or corporation shall engage in the business of electrical contracting unless such person, firm or corporation shall have received from the board or from the appropriate municipality an electrical contractor's license. Nor shall any person, other than an electrical journeyman, except a person duly licensed and employed by and working under the direction of a holder of an electrical contractor's license, in any manner undertake to execute any electrical wiring; except, no license shall be required by the board for the home owner to perform the work indicated in subsection (g) nor shall a license or permit be required to execute the work covered by subsections (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f) and (h), to execute the following classes of work: (c) The installation, alteration or repair of electrical equipment and its associated wiring, installed on the premises of consumers or subscribers by or for electrical energy supply or communication agencies for use by such agencies in the generation, transmission, distribution or metering of electrical energy, or for the operation of signals or transmission of intelligence. (d) The installation, alteration or repair of electric wiring for the generation and primary distribution of electric current, or the secondary distribution system up to and including the meters, where such work is an integral part of the system owned and operated by an electric light and power utility in rendering its duly authorized service. [Emphasis added.] If a statute is plain and unambiguous, there is no room for judicial construction. Rather, the courts must apply the statute as written by the Legislature. Nordman v. Calhoun, 332 Mich 460, 465-466; 51 NW2d 906 (1952). Subsection 7(c) is clearly the subsection that applies to the installation of equipment such as load management control switches. In that subsection, unlike subsection 7(d), the Legislature has not included the limiting language "up to and including the meters." Thus, the licensure exemption for the installation of equipment in subsection 7(c) is not limited to the utility's side of the customer's meter. It is my opinion, therefore, that a Michigan utility is not required to use licensed electricians (either employees or outside contractors) to perform installation of load management control switches on the service side of the customer's meter or to obtain electrical permits and have inspections for each installation. Frank J. Kelley Attorney General