New Electrical Certification Regulations

RULES AND REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE STANDARDS

FOR CERTIFICATION OF COAL MINE ELECTRICIANS

MSHA will no longer recognize the West Virginia low-medium voltage electrical certification. The West Virginia Board of Miner Training, Education and Certification, has approved the new 18 hour training program made available for those who need additional hours to upgrade their card, or for future electrical examinations.   The changes were made to the regulations regarding the electrical certifications and filed with the West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office. The changes that were made have been filed as an Emergency Rule, which is effective as of August 7, 2001.   A downloadable ".PDF"  version of the new regulations is available here. You will need to have Acrobat Reader  in order to view these files.

Revised Electrical Study Guides

The "Seventh Edition of the West Virginia Mine Electricians Certification Program Study Guide", contains revisions related to high voltage.  This appendix is to be used as a reference to the hands-on practical portion of the examination.  You can obtain a copy of the revised study guide from any WV MHS&T office or order one through our publications page.

New Electrical Panels

The need for more advanced training for mine electricians has been observed many times. In the past it has been difficult to simulate the conditions presented by a high voltage substation. Several MHS&T employees recognized that need and decided to do something about it. They have designed and constructed new high voltage electrical simulation panels. In the photo below, the panels are shown during the construction process.

These panels simulate a high voltage substation that protects the circuitry of an underground mine high voltage transmissions. WVMHS&T staff involved in the design and construction of the panels included: Tom Harmon, Jim Berry, Bennie Comer, Randy Smith and Bob Thornsbury. Tom Harmon provided his workshop to the crew for the production of the units. First, a prototype was built to prove the idea would work. Once the prototype was completely tested, work began on the individual units. Ten panels have been constructed so far as shown in the photo below.

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Virginia, Alabama and other coal states have expressed much interest in these new devices. In addition to the coal states, MSHA and the industry have also shown interest. Most of these parties want to construct panels for their training classes. We plan to make available plans and material lists for all interested parties. MHS&T may make these plans available on the internet through our WebPages.

WV MHS&T has planed to complete a video of an electrical inspection to be used in conjunction with the new panels.