The 2026 NEC Code: Pivotal Changes to Move Microgrids and DERs Forward
Change is inevitable and resistance is oppositional—at least when it comes to the world of commercial and industrial-scale electricity.
It sounds scary and yet is the opposite of that, motivating experts away from comfortable precedent and toward safer, clearer and more efficient standards.
The electricity sector, for instance, is changing at the fastest pace perhaps since the grid was first built. The rise of distributed energy resources (DERs) on the supply side and industrial electrification on the demand side is creating new challenges which cannot be met in the same old ways.
Those who devise and revise the National Electrical Code (NEC) certainly understand that the only constant is change, and that it’s a good thing because we must always get safer and more efficient. And the 2026 version of the NEC is showing that microgrids, controls and other DER assets are critical to the overall power infrastructure mix and require clarity and innovation.
The commercial and industrial (C&I) customer sectors are increasingly adopting on-site and even off-grid assets such as microgrids and DERs which can be interconnected later into the utility grid. This vast shift, which was brought on by demand growth from data centers, artificial intelligence training, industrial automation and transportation electrification, inspired the team which refines the NEC annually.
“The 2026 edition of the National Electrical Code marks a pivotal shift in how electrical systems are designed, installed, and maintained, especially in commercial and industrial environments,” Chad Kennedy, director of industry standards with Schneider Electric, wrote in his recent blog on the 2026 NEC changes.
“The NEC 2026 integrates Power Control Systems (PCS) and Energy Management Systems (EMS) into Chapter 1, refining load calculation methods,” Kennedy added. This addition supports smarter electrical demand assessments and helps reduce oversized service installations.
Among the NEC code changes relevant to microgrids and DERs include new specifics allowing single system disconnects for combined sources, ground fault requirements accounting for all interconnected sources and equipment to isolate DERs during outages and emergencies.
“By optimizing, design professionals and engineers can now use PCS settings to manage load profiles, enabling smarter system sizing and avoiding unnecessary service upgrades, especially in EV infrastructure projects,” Kennedy pointed out in his Schneider Electric blog.
The new code on allowing single system disconnects for combined sources—common to microgrids which often unite and balance renewables, battery storage and on-site gen-sets—could unlock new clarity leading to enhanced investment, according to some industry leaders.
Microgrid designers and developers working toward standardization and overcoming the interconnection queues include Schneider Electric, Eaton, Sprocket Power, S&C Electric, AlphaStruxure, Pisgah Energy, Scale Microgrid and others.
The microgrid portions of the revised NEC code also institute changes on transfer switches, interconnection, protection and could pave the way for more modularization and standardization in project design and development. Greater modularization, in turn, could reduce project costs and attract more investment.
The original NEC was published in 1897. It is updated once every three years.
NEC 2026 Explained
Video with SE's Chad Kennedy and EC&M Editor Ellen Parson
About the Author
Rod Walton, Microgrid Knowledge Head of Content
Managing Editor
For Microgrid Knowledge editorial inquiries, please contact Managing Editor Rod Walton at [email protected].
I’ve spent the last 15 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist. I was an energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World before moving to business-to-business media at PennWell Publishing, which later became Clarion Events, where I covered the electric power industry. I joined Endeavor Business Media in November 2021 to help launch EnergyTech, one of the company’s newest media brands. I joined Microgrid Knowledge in July 2023.
I earned my Bachelors degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma. My career stops include the Moore American, Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise, Wagoner Tribune and Tulsa World, all in Oklahoma . I have been married to Laura for the past 33-plus years and we have four children and one adorable granddaughter. We want the energy transition to make their lives better in the future.
Microgrid Knowledge and EnergyTech are focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids. The C&I sectors together account for close to 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.
Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.