RA 7920

• REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7920 was enacted on February 24, 1995
• This Act is known as the "New Electrical Engineering Law"
• Practice of electrical engineering


  When a person renders or offers to render professional electrical engineering service in the form of:

  1. Consultation, investigation, valuation and management of services requiring electrical engineering knowledge
  2. Design and preparation of plans, specifications and estimates for electric power systems, power plants, power distribution systems including power transformers, transmission lines and network protection, switchgear, building wiring electrical machines, equipment and others
  3. Supervision of erection, installation, testing and commissioning of power plants, substations, transmission lines, industrial plants and others
  4. Supervision of operation and maintenance of electrical equipment in power plants, industrial plants, watercrafts, electric locomotives and others
  5. Supervision of the manufacture and repair of electrical equipment including switchboards, transformers, generators, motors, apparatus and others
  6. Teaching of electrical engineering professional subjects
  7. Taking charge of the sale and distribution of electrical equipment and systems requiring engineering calculations or applications of engineering data
• Electric supply equipment


  Any equipment which produces, modifies, regulates, or controls the supply of electric energy
• Electric plant


  An establishment or a system for the production and modification of electric energy
• Power plant design


  Planning, specifying, coordinating layouting of electrical equipment in power plants, substations and the like
• Substation


  Any building, room or separate place which houses or encloses electric supply equipment connected to transmission or distribution lines and the interior of which is accessible, as a rule, only to properly qualified persons
• Electrical system design


  The choice of electrical systems, including planning and detailing of requirements for protection, control, monitoring, coordination and interlocking of electrical systems
• Voltage


  The highest effective potential difference between any two conductors of the circuit concerned expressed in volts
• Kva


  The installed capacity of an alternating current (A.C.) electric plant or supply equipment, or the connected load of industrial plants, commercial establishments, institutional buildings expressed in kilovolt-amperes
• Kw


  The installed capacity of a direct current (D.C) electric plant on board watercraft expressed in kilowatts
• Utilization equipment


  Energy-consuming equipment including motors, heaters, furnaces, light sources and other devices which utilize electric energy, for any purpose
• Industrial plant or factory

  Manufacturing assembly plants, including engineering shops, shipyards or other business endeavors where electrical machinery and equipment are installed
• Commercial establishments


  Department stores, supermarkets, shopping malls, office buildings, hotels, theaters, stadiums, condominiums, convention centers, restaurant and the like, used for business or profit
• Institutional buildings


  School buildings, hospitals, museums, display centers, government buildings and the like
• Watercraft


  Any waterborne unit which is designed and built to have an electric plant
• Electric locomotive


  The power plant mounted on wheels as used in the railroad transportation industry
• The Board of Electrical Engineering is created as a collegial body under the general supervision and administrative control of the Professional Regulations Commission
• The Board is composed of a chairman and two (2) members appointed by the President of the Philippines from among the recommendees of the Commissioner of the Professional Regulations Commission
• Powers and duties of the Board

  • Supervise and regulate the practice of electrical engineering in the Philippines

  1. Determine and evaluate the qualifications of applicants for registration with or without licensure examinations and for special permits
  2. Prepare the examination questions, prescribe the syllabi and relative weights, formulate or adopt test questions, conduct the examination, correct and rate the papers, and submit the results to the PRC
  3. Prescribe, amend or revise the requirements for professional electrical engineers and subjects in the licensure examination
  4. Register successful applicants and issue certificates of registration and professional licenses
  5. Issue special permits to individual foreign electrical engineers and electricians for specific projects and duration
  6. Look into the conditions affecting the practice of the profession, adopt measures for enhancement, and conduct ocular inspections
  7. Promulgate rules, regulations, code of ethics, administrative policies, orders and issuances
  8. Investigate violations and render decisions, orders or resolutions

  10) Issue subpoena or subpoena duces tecum

  11) Delegate investigation to the chairman, a board member or a PRC attorney

  12) Administer oaths

  13) Submit annual reports

  14) Prosecute or institute criminal action against violators

  15) Adopt an official seal

  16) Coordinate with the Commission and DECS on courses

  17) Prescribe guidelines and criteria on the CPE program

  18) Perform other necessary functions
• Qualifications of Board members

  • Natural born Filipino citizen, resident of the Philippines for at least 5 years

  1. At least 35 years old, of proven integrity and high moral values
  2. No final conviction by the court of an offense involving moral turpitude
  3. Holder of a BSEE degree from a duly constituted, recognized and accredited institution
  4. Professional electrical engineer with valid certificate of registration and license
  5. Practiced electrical engineering for at least 10 years prior to appointment
  6. Not an official, faculty member or have pecuniary interest in any institution conferring a BSEE degree, nor connected with a review center, for at least 3 years prior to appointment
• Board members hold office for a term of 3 years and may be reappointed for a second term
• Vacancies in the Board are filled by the President from the list of recommendees by the Commissioner who were chosen from the list of nominees submitted by the integrated and accredited association, for the unexpired term only
• Board members may be removed by the President upon recommendation of the Commissioner for neglect of duty, incompetence, malpractice, commission or tolerance of irregularities in the examinations, or for unprofessional, unethical, or dishonorable conduct, after being given the opportunity to defend themselves
• The chairman and members of the Board shall receive a monthly compensation of no less than P12,000 and P10,800 respectively, which may be increased or modified pursuant to the General Appropriations Act
• The Commissioner shall be the executive officer of the Board, conduct the examinations, and designate a subordinate officer as secretary and custodian of records
• All applicants for the practice of electrical engineering in the Philippines shall be required to pass a technical examination, except as otherwise allowed
• A valid certificate of registration and professional license from the Commission are required before a person is allowed to practice electrical engineering in the Philippines, except as otherwise allowed
• Examination fees are prescribed by the Commission, with 90% treated as a special fund for the Commission's programs and 10% as a trust fund for the center for continuing education and research
• Registration fees, license fees and fines are prescribed by the Board and approved by the Commission, with 50% treated as a special fund for the Commission's programs and 50% as a special fund for the Board's supervisory and regulatory functions
• Examination and registration are not required of foreign electrical engineers, erection/commissioning/guarantee engineers, and foreign electrical installers, subject to certain conditions
• Foreign professionals


  • Scope of work limited to particular work for which they were contracted
  • Must secure special permit from Commission before commencing work
  • Cannot engage in private practice on their own account
  • For every foreign professional, one Filipino understudy who is registered must be employed for at least the duration of the alien expert's tenure
• Exemptions from registration with the Board

  • Engineering students, apprentices and other persons employed or acting as subordinates of, or undergoing training under a person holding a valid certificate of registration and a valid professional license
  • Persons in charge of or supervising the operation, tending and maintenance of an electric generating set for private use employing voltages not exceeding 250V and capacity not exceeding 50kva
• Holding of Examinations


  1. Examinations for the practice of electrical engineering in the Philippines should be given twice a year in the City of Manila and other places

  2. Board shall schedule interview/oral examination of every applicant for registration as professional electrical engineer only at the office of the Commission

  3. Notice of admission to qualified applicants shall be issued not later than 10 days prior to the first day of examination
• Qualifications of Applicant for Registration as Professional Electrical Engineer

  • Citizen of the Philippines
  • Good reputation with high moral values
  • Not been finally convicted by the court of an offense involving moral turpitude
  • Holder of the degree of Bachelor of Science in Electric Engineering (BSEE) from a university, school, college, academy or institute duly constituted, recognized and accredited by the Philippine government
  • Registered electrical engineer with valid certificate of registration and professional license and with 4 years or more of active practice
• Qualifications of Applicants for Registered Electrical Engineer Examination

  • Citizen of the Philippines
  • At least 21 years of age
  • Good reputation with high moral values
  • Not been finally convicted by the court of an offense involving moral turpitude
  • Holder of the degree of Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (BSEE) from a university, school, college, academy or institute duly constituted, recognized and accredited by the Philippine government
• Qualifications of Applicants for Registered Master Electrician Examination

  • Citizen of the Philippines
  • At least 18 years of age
  • Good reputation with high moral values
  • Not been finally convicted by the court of an offense involving moral turpitude
  • Has completed at least 3 years of a 5-year BSEE program or a 3-year course in electrical engineering technology and has 1 year practice in electrical wiring and installation, operation and maintenance
  • Has graduated from a 2-year electrician's course and has at least 2 years of apprenticeship
  • Has completed a 1-year electrician's course and has at least 3 years of apprenticeship
  • Has completed 4-year high school education and has at least 5 years of apprenticeship in electric wiring, installation, operation and maintenance
• Scope of Examination for Professional Electrical Engineer


  • Certified experience record
  • Technical paper covering an evaluation, an analysis, a study or a critical discussion of an electrical engineering project or subject
  • 3 certifications signed by 3 professional electrical engineers to the effect that the experience record and technical paper are factual
• Scope of Examination for Registered Electrical Engineer


  • Mathematics (25%)
  • Engineering sciences and allied subjects (30%)
  • Electrical engineering professional subjects (45%)
• Scope of Examination for Registered Master Electrician

  • Technical subjects (50%)
  • Philippine Electrical Code, Parts 1 and 2 (50%)