What is required if a building has more than one service disconnect?

In a situation where a building has more than one service disconnect, it's essential that each service connection is equipped with its own grounding electrode system. This requirement ensures that each service is separately grounded, which provides a reliable and effective means of grounding for each system.

Having individual grounding electrode systems helps in several ways: it enhances safety by reducing the risk of voltage rises and ensures that any ground fault will be effectively cleared for all services. Moreover, the National Electrical Code (NEC) mandates that systems operate independently to maintain proper grounding and bonding practices, which is crucial for both safety and compliance with electrical codes.

For buildings with multiple service disconnects, relying on a single grounding connection would compromise the grounding effectiveness. Therefore, to achieve both safety and code compliance, each service must indeed have its own grounding electrode system.