NFPA 70E references other codes and standards such as other NFPA standards as well as IEEE, ASTM, ANSI and more. The date of the specific edition of a referenced standard may or may not be included, which can lead to confusion.

An example is found in Informational Note No. 2 of Table 130(C)((15)(a) Arc Flash PPE Categories for ac Systems references Table 1 of IEEE 1584, Guide for Performing Arc Flash Hazard Calculations. This reference does not mention which edition. The first Edition was published in 2002 and the second edition was published in 2018.

This new informational note added to the 2024 Edition of NFPA 70E makes it clear that when a specific edition is not provided, the latest edition is used. This can be important, too, because sometimes standards can become out of sync with each other.

As a specific example, when the 2018 Edition of NFPA 70E was being developed, it was known that a new edition of IEEE 1584 was right around the corner but would not be published in time to be referenced in the 2018 Edition of NFPA 70E.

For the 2024 Edition, this situation is now easier to resolve since not listing a date means the latest edition is used – helping to keep the standards in sync.