Alan,
If you are requiring an existing building to meet current codes when it is re-energized but not re-modeled, then you are opening a major can of worms. Some day, you may be sued for the changes you required above and beyond the code. You may have to pay for the changes you required out of your own pocket, and you will probally lose your job, too. This is a major abuse of the power you hold as an inspector.
Requiring unsafe installations to be made safe prior to re-energizing is one thing, requiring an existing building to be brought up to current codes is quite another.
Insurance companies and banks are allowed to require such things because they require it contigent upon issuing the insurance or loan. You can always decline and use another company. The inspector is an arm of the law, and as such, he cannot require anything beyond the minimum required by law. Unless there is a law in your area requiring such action, what you are doing is illegal.
