Our History
Electrical Safety First (formerly the Electrical Safety Council, or ESC) is a registered UK charity working with all sectors of the electrical industry as well as local and central government to reduce deaths and injuries caused by electrical accidents.
Electrical Safety First was established as the National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting (NICEIC) in 1956. The National Inspection Council was in turn created from the National Register of Electrical Contractors, established in 1923, an organisation set up to provide protection for consumers against unsafe electrical wiring and equipment. Significant events in their history:
- 1956 NICEIC set up
- 1959 First NICEIC newsletter published
- 1970s Around 18,000 separate electrical installations inspected each year
- 1971 NICEIC is registered as a charity
- 1983 First computer introduced into NICEIC Head Office
- 1986 NICEIC Head Office moves to Vintage House, London
- 1988 NICEIC forms NQA, National Quality Assurance
- 1992 16th Edition of IEE Wiring Regulations adopted as British Standard
- 1998 NICEIC Roll published on CD-ROM and website
- 2000 NICEIC becomes a UKAS accredited certification body
- 2002 Technical Manual launched
- 2005 The charity was renamed the Electrical Safety Council and started to carry out the charitable objectives of the National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting. NICEIC Group Ltd formed to carry out the commercial aspects of the National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting.
- 2006 Electrical Safety Council sets up its offices in Buckingham Gate, London
- 2014 Rebrands and becomes Electrical Safety First, to better reflect the Charity’s consumer focus.