This is a bit of a grey area. I hope that proposals are carefully considered by code officials. “Life extension” is becoming a larger part of the electrical business these days. Case in point—ANSI/IEEE Std C37.59–2002 Standard Requirements for Conversion of Power Switchgear Equipment allows for and outlines rework of switchgear with related ‘design verification’ and documentation of the process.
What should be considered as ‘discontinued’—energized but with no load, or does it have to be deenergized? How should ‘obsolete’ be defined? Why ‘discarded’ and not rebuilt? Reinstallation and reuse of rebuilt electrical components seem to be at an all-time high given the current less-than-rosy state of business.
The idea behind publications like C37.59 is to formally attempt to cover the bases to allow gear to be returned to service given careful modifcation and evaluation of reinstalled gear, where wholesale replacement is not practical or economically possible.
I am not totally against the proposed changes, but possibly a few issues should be more carefully addressed.
