Berberian: If Delaware pulls plug, jobs and wallets suffer

A current exemption allows companies that provide cabling services — everything from HVAC, landscape lighting and alarms to audio, automation and holiday lights — to install low-voltage cable without an electrician’s license. The proposal would not allow them to do so.”

Jack Berberian is the CEO of Lewes’ ThinkSecureNet, a company that offers low-voltage cabling among its services.

Delaware is at a crossroad. A proposed regulatory change facing the Board of Electrical Examiners would eliminate thousands of jobs and close down hundreds of companies within 30 days of its passage. A current exemption allows companies that provide cabling services — everything from HVAC, landscape lighting and alarms to audio, automation and holiday lights — to install low-voltage cable without an electrician’s license. The proposal would not allow them to do so. On its face, it may seem like a bureaucratic tweak. In reality, it’s a change that will bankrupt small businesses, eliminate countless jobs, delay critical infrastructure and drive up costs for consumers.

Delaware is supposed to be helping create jobs not eliminating thousands of them, sending families into financial distress and businesses into bankruptcy.

Here’s what the numbers tell us: As of 2022, there were about 2,330 electricians employed in Delaware. If you’ve needed electrical work, then you know that number is not enough to serve current demand.

Here’s what would happen if the state forces every cable technician to become — or hire — an electrician:

1. It just wouldn’t happen. Becoming an electrician takes four to six years. Asking current cable pullers to stop taking paychecks while they go to school for six years is just not feasible. Our unemployment number would soar.
2. There would be massive strain on the existing electrical workforce. Delaware already has growth projected at 13% for the electrician profession, but the pool of licensed electricians is nowhere near abundant. Many are aging out or nearing retirement. With more roles demanding licensing, delays will multiply: Newly licensed electricians will be harder to find, education/apprenticeship pipelines will lag, and licensing exams will back up.
3. Small businesses would be hit hardest. Many contractors specialize in cable, security or telecom work but aren’t electricians. This change would simply put them out of business. Cabling contractors who already have existing contracts for the next two to three years would be put into bankruptcy as soon as this amendment goes into effect. Hiring an electrician for the existing jobs would, at a minimum, triple costs, which could not be absorbed at the contracted price.
4. Consumer costs would rise. When a “cable pull” job becomes an “electrical job,” rates follow accordingly. Electricians typically charge more per hour than low-voltage/cable specialists do. For homeowners, schools and businesses, that means paying more to install the same camera systems, network wiring or speaker systems. It also means longer wait times because of the lack of licensed electricians to do the work.
5. Project delays and bottlenecks would arise. Delaware’s construction sector supports roughly 24,500 jobs in recent data. With housing demand and commercial growth high, pulling nonelectrical contractors out of the loop introduces delay. Finding licensed electricians to do what were once “permit-friendly,” lower-cost low-voltage jobs means more scheduling complexity and more inspections.

Yes, safety matters. Yes, licenses have their place. But cable installers, security system technicians, internet providers and audiovisual companies are already certified, regulated and inspected. They work under state, federal and national guidelines. They have existing contracts already scheduled, years in advance.

If the exemption is removed, all of these businesses will face impossible choices: Try to absorb the heavy costs this amendment brings, let go of employees or close altogether. The ripple effects on employment are real; thousands would lose their jobs and benefits.

This isn’t trying to fix a problem. No problem exists. The state must reserve the exemption. Don’t punish thousands of employees and the people of Delaware.

Email your thoughts in opposition to jazmine.peebles@delaware.gov. Tell the Board of Electrical Examiners to keep Exemption 10.1.6. Save jobs and the economy of Delaware.

Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.