Guess I'd better defend myself here.
2/5 of the building is brand new, and all wiring is up to code and in most cases well beyond.
1/5 is currently gutted and under remodel.
That leaves 2/5 that is classified as "Legacy" space. True, much of that is REALLY ugly. It was installed in the 40's LONG before there was anything to plug in:
remember - there were NO electric typewriters, NO copiers, NO fax, NO shredders, NO computers. Wiring looked a LOT different back then.
That it has not been updated at all is utter nonsense, I was in here just out of my apprenticeship in the 70's doing upgrades on the switchgear. I have not seen the show, nor do I have a clue who made the statement, but I can say that is not an accurate statement. You can, in fact, find spots that are a nightmare, but they are few and far between as we have remodeled much of the legacy space to accomodate the people displaced from the remodel, while the entire space is not all brand new, it is all safe and pretty much up to code, and the electrical part is fairly easy.
We adhere to State of Virginia rules, but there is no county inspection. The inspections are taken care of by the Construction Management team (dat be me, and another for electrical, but I also do design and review, plus sustainable review)and we have some oversight by Dept. of Defense, not GSA.
BTW, our voltage drop issue is as per Ashrae, and yes, WE load test, AFTER I review the drawings as submitted and check the designers calcs. I'm even the jerk who knows where the farthest outlet is already, and guess where I head first?
IOW iwire, yup, it's a gummint project, but it AIN'T being overseen by da gummint.