coming up on this week's news the microgeneration certification scheme is set for the biggest  shakeup in its history an industry leader slams electricians for using certificates as a weapon  to get paid and a 21-year-old tourist is taking legal action after receiving an electric shock  from a flood light in a London Park welcome to electrical news weekly in association with  solar trade sales your easy One-Stop shop for all things solar make sure you click the link in the  show notes to access their online store whether you're listening in the van on site or down at the  wholesale counter I'm Joy Robinson and I've been through the best of the electrical industry news  to save you the trouble and this week's challenge word competition is supported by the good people  at Brady if you need a label they've got a printer and so much more if you think you've spotted the  two words I've been challenged to slip into this week's show comment with them below for the chance  to win a prize and while you're there click the link to check out the Brady range of printers the  microgeneration certification scheme or MCS is set for a major shakeup next month eFIXX understands  that the changes are in response to criticism that membership is too bureaucratic for electricians  the MCS says it wants to cut paperwork and instead focus on evidence of quality installations for  customers first off the requirement to be a member of a consumer code will be dropped  another major change is that the frequency of your assessments will now depend on what MCS  is calling your risk of non-compliance that's because as an MCS certified installer you must  also be a member of a certification body such as napit these certification bodies conduct regular  assessments of your operations to ensure you can competently install Technologies such as  solar panels and battery packs installers whose MCS operations are relatively simple and who've  satisfied customers and few complaints will be rewarded with less assessments installers with  more complex operations such as those involving lots of subcontractors and whose projects are  found to be poor will be assessed more often MCS says it will also specify the content of  each rating rather than leave it to individual inspectors there will be a new requirement for  a named technical supervisor for every job this replaces the current requirement for a nominated  technical person the technical supervisor will be the person who's qualified to sign  off a completed job the MCS is also responding to critics in the trade who say it's not clear what  processes and controls it requires of its members the organiSation says it will unveil detailed  guidance in the new year so installers know exactly how to comply it says that if you follow  its procedures you won't need to subscribe to a software platform to ensure your MCS certification  while the new scheme launches in January you'll need to carry on with your current requirements  until your certification body gives you the option to transfer this includes maintaining  membership of a consumer code for now MCS Chief Ian Rippin says the new scheme is designed to  be more accessible fairer and less focused on paperwork while the MCS says its service  is helping to drive up projects such as solar installations the PV industry says it's facing  a growing threat cable theft deter Tech a provider of security for critical infrastructure structure  says there's been a surging cable thefts from solar farms and battery storage facilities data  compiled from its crime intelligence unit reveals that over 750 kilometres of cable were stolen from  solar farms in the UK between January and August this year many of the sites were repeatedly  targeted by organised criminals soon after cables were replaced deter says the prevalence and scale  of cable theft from Solar Farms has never been higher in the first 8 months of 2024 over 70 theft  incidents were reported at solar sites a fifth of these involved cable thefts of at least 20 km in  length Europe faces a similar situation says the firm with an estimated 5,000 major solar thefts  occurring annually including 400 in Germany alone the culprit appears to be organised criminal gangs  DeterTech recommends fast and effective detection and escalation to protect installations and avoid  downtime in other news an industry leader has slammed electricians who use electrical  installation certificates as a weapon to get paid Bob Cairney director of technical services  at Scottish electrical trade body select told fix radio that certification was an area which  is generally misunderstood by both contractors and their clients he said the organisation sometimes  receives customer complaints when certification of projects is with held by its members in lie  of final payment Cairney says select tries to Enlighten its members that this should not happen  he says compliance with standards actually involves the issuing of the certificates  as necessary verification he also discussed what what he termed the uncomfortable truth  that anyone can be an electrician without proper training and qualification he says everyone select  speaks to about this is shocked that electricians aren't regulated anyone can set up in business as  an electrician or electrical contractor in the UK they can carry out work in people's homes without  having completed an electrical installation apprenticeship or even having any relevant  qualifications KY says that you couldn't do this if you want to shoe a horse as a farrier or act  as a nightclub bouncer or even be a street sweeper these activities are all regulated and their title  is protected but not electricians select says it's continuing its 10-year campaign to get protection  of title for the profession if they're successful hopefully that will sort out some of the worst  thunderheads in the trade the lack of status is echoed in a survey out this week which reveals  that out of all trades the one that wants to immigrate the most is electricians researchers at  trade fix direct crunch the numbers to see who was seeking jobs abroad Australia is the most popular  country for electricians with Canada and Ireland coming in second and third respectively after  electricians the trades that want to Up Sticks the most are plumbers and Carpenters who are no  doubt longing to apply their Craft on the Majestic native sycamores overseas the least likely to seek  work overseas are landscapers part of the reason for the Gloom could be late payments in the UK  it's estimated that electrical contractors are owed an average of £3,942 each at the end of this  year research from Ford Pro reveals they're paid on average 35 days late the car Brand's commercial  division conducted the research after the issue of delayed or missing payments was reported as the  major issue facing Soul Traders heading into 2025 one in five UK trades people are even relying on  payday loans to pay their household bills the same amount are worried about supporting their family  heading into the end of the year trades people are Oda staggering £3.5 billion pounds in Collective  overdue payments for instance Arlo Masters a lighting technician from North London tells us  that he's waiting on payments of around 3,500 from various customers some of it dates back 6 months  he says it leaves him in a difficult position as he also has to pay other trades that he's brought  into a job Masters says a few hundred quid doesn't seem like much to many clients but to sole Traders  it can make a huge difference observers say not all subcontractors are in a position to take legal  action from a financial and relationship point of view meanwhile one person who is taking legal  action this week is a 21-year-old tourist who received a serious electric shock in a London Park  the electric shock at St James' park next to Buckingham Palace put Latvian national  Anastasija Grigorjeva in intensive care and she says left her with memory problems. Grigorjeva was visiting her sister in London in July, when her leg fell through the grate of a  ground-level spotlight and touched a live electrical cable she stopped breathing and  became unresponsive prompting police officers to use a defibrillator the young sightseer was  then taken to St Thomas's hospital where she was kept in intensive care for 4 days when she  woke up her sister said says she had changed experiencing outbursts of anger and behaving  more impulsively she believes grigo yva received a brain injury from the experience the family is  now suing the body responsible for the location Its solicitor Magdalena Knez, of Osbornes Law,  says the Royal Parks has a responsibility to make sure its sites are safe for users. a Royal Park  spokesperson said he was not able to comment on individual legal cases but wanted to reassure  the public that St James' Park provides a safe environment for all big thanks to Baltic Electric  for sending that story into us if you too come across a story that you think Merit is  being featured in the news then submit it at the press release Link in the show notes now  while we're on the subject of lighting our most recent question of the week was taken from the  free training package we made in association with Lewden Palazzoli in which we exploded a  few myths surrounding the electrical industry one of the videos in that module was on the subject of  Maximum demand and asked the question what is the updated recommended power value per lamp holder  for a lighting circuit according to the electrical design guide the correct answer is 30 W which I  think is still a bit too high and as it happens 48% of respondents on YouTube got it right which  was better than LinkedIn which came in at just 30% correct so wherever you're watching check out  that free training package by clicking the link in the show notes in product news Legrand has  unveiled a new cable tray range which is designed to be easily adapted to demanding locations CAO  Bend is a steel wire system that's configurable by hand to allow for changes in cable Direction  this minimises the need for cutting or for buying extra accessories it's available in three Heights  and widths between 100 mm and 600 mm hikmicro has unveiled a mini thermal camera for mobile phones  The Firm says it's great at spotting potential problems such as loose connections overheating  cables and damaged fuses the mini e connects to Android or iPhones and tablets and includes  a flexible 60 cm extension cable for hard to- reach areas it allows you to detect even subtle  temperature differ differences across a wide range up to 400°C our favourite launch this week though  is what its maker Simmons signs is calling a light tile it's a light emitting sign that's  just 7 mm thin which is designed for mounting onroad surfaces the LED tile can display words  such as stop and 20 M hour or Graphics such as arrows it's triggered by thermal cameras traffic  lights and speed radar expect to start seeing on British roads in 2025 and our usual reminder  that we'd like to hear about your stories your projects and your recommendations as we'd like  to share them with the wider eFIXX Community send us pictures of your installs or let us  know if you've come across any new kit that's making your job easier now just before we get  to your favourite bit of the show where I reveal last week's challenge words and winners we want  to thank our premium Partners we couldn't make the news without you first up it's the people who've  created the Swiss army knife of solar inverters along with all weather batteries very much the  Boy Scouts of the solar industry it's sunsynk the best thing to come out of Yorkshire since  stainless steel the home of EV Ultra and other groundbreaking and quality products it's Doncaster  cables with an incredible range of equipment from EV charge points through industrial sockets and  switches to kit for explosive areas plus they supplied gear for a campari factory so they'll  always have a place in my heart it's Scame big thanks to you all we really appreciate your  ongoing support for the news now if you think you know the words that I've smuggled into this week's  show pop your guess into the comments we'll take all the correct guesses and select one at random  to be the winner of an eFIXX goodie bag prize answers submitted after about lunchtime on the  Thursday after release will not be entered into the draw now let's reveal the winners of last  week's challenge word competition as sponsored by Brady remember if you need a label they've got a  printer and so much more click the link in the description to view their incredible range last  week's words were manhandle and constellation and the first name to come out of our electronic hat  was chicken wizzy wizzy chicken wizzy I can't imagine that's your government name but very  well done to you chicken I guess click the get involved link in the show notes to claim  your prize thanks for listening to this episode of electrical news weekly in association with  solar trade sales your easy One-Stop shop for all things solar remember to click the link in  the show notes to check out their online shop and as this is the last episode of 2024 I just  wanted to say thanks for your input thanks for your comments thanks for your support over the  year we've garnered over 1.3 million views on YouTube alone plus our other platforms as well  which is kind of mind-blowing when you reflect on it but you make that happen and the show would be  nothing without you dear viewers and listeners thanks also to the brands that have sponsored  and supported us this year you keep the lights on here at enw and we really appreciate that thanks  as well to Joe 2.0 for all the back room stuff and thumbnails Gordon for always finding juicy  stories Gary for the Relentless promotion and of course to our esteemed script writer Ray Maloney  this really is a team effort so to all I hope you get some much needed time off over the next  couple of weeks we don't know what 2025 will bring but we'll be here every Monday keeping  you posted on what's new exciting and occasionally mystifying about the electrical industry so make  sure you're subscribed to receive the next update thanks for listening and until next year have  a great break stay safe out there and remember there's no such thing as a torque calibrated arm