As of January 1, 2022, the VA Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation requires that a portion of the VA Uniform Statewide Building Code (USBC) code changes pertaining to electrical installations be included in electrical continuing education programs.

During the 2018 VA USBC code adoption process, a change was made to add Section 2702.3 requiring the protection of critical circuits.

According to the chapter 2 definitions in the Building Code, a critical circuit is defined as “a circuit that requires continuous operation to ensure safety of the structure and occupants”.

The longer the critical circuit can survive, the longer it will function as intended and allow occupants to egress the building safely and effectively during an emergency.

When reviewing the VA USBC for code changes, technical code changes from the previous edition of the International Codes are shown in blue text.

[F] 2702.3 Critical circuits.

Required critical circuits shall be protected using one of the following methods:

1.Cables, used for survivability of required critical circuits, that are listed in accordance with UL 2196 and have a fire-resistance rating of not less than 1 hour.

2.Electrical circuit protective systems having a fire-resistance rating of not less than 1 hour. Electrical circuit protective systems are installed in accordance with their listing requirements.

3.Construction having a fire-resistance rating of not less than 1 hour.