20 November 2018

Unlicensed electrical worker Dmitri Fedoulov has been fined in the Wellington District Court for undertaking prescribed electrical work (PEW) on his own property.

Mr Fedoulov has been ordered to pay $1900 plus costs for carrying out the electrical installation of his residential garage while he did not hold a licence from the Electrical Workers Registration Board and was not a registered electrician.

“The work, which included installing electrical equipment and fittings, is considered PEW and must be undertaken by a licensed and registered electrical worker,” says Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment Investigation’s Team Leader Simon Thomas.

It also requires a Certificate of Compliance and Electrical Safety Certificate in order to make sure the work is safe and compliant.

“Mr Fedoulov made a serious breach in judgement carrying out this work himself which potentially could have resulted in serious harm to the property and people,” says Mr Thomas.

“Mr Fedoulov used unsafe cabling which was buried too shallow beneath the surface, there was no cover placed over the garage distribution board protecting the circuit breakers and cables. Also, no residual-current device was installed – which is designed to automatically switch off electrically if there is a fault.”

The electrical work Mr Fedoulov carried out is outside an exemption for domestic electrical wiring due to the nature of the work and that it was not carried out in a competent or safe manner.

“It is incredibly important when undertaking any home repairs or upgrades that all prescribed electrical work is carried out by a licensed and registered electrician,” says Mr Thomas.

“Licensed electrical workers are professionals who are trained to do the job safely and correctly. Incorrectly installed electrical work can result in fire and serious harm, which is why it can only be carried out by a licensed electrical worker.

“Where prescribed electrical work isn’t being carried out by a licensed electrical worker, the Electrical Workers Registration Board will investigate, ensuring the safety of New Zealanders and their homes.”

See the WorkSafe website for guidelines on carrying out electrical work in your home.

[ends]

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On The Skewed Media Coverage Of Gaza

Now that he’s back as Foreign Minister, maybe Winston Peters should start reading the MFAT website which is currently celebrating the 25th anniversary of how Kiwis alerted the rest of the world to the genocide in Rwanda. How times have changed ...

In 2023, the government is clutching its pearls because senior Labour MP Damien O’Connor has dared suggest that Gaza’s civilian population are also victims of what amounts to genocide... More

Scoop Post Election Podcast: River Of Freedom Review

After reviewing River of Freedom, a documentary about the Wellington parliamentary protest of 2022, the Scoop Political Podcast went into hibernation. Watched by potentially tens of thousands of voters in the weeks prior to Election 23, it was unlikely to have won any votes for Labour. With a new coalition Government now formed, it’s time to look at the impact it had... More