New Electrical Supply Price Sheet

created with the assistance of Platinum Level Training Partner Graybar.

Lesson 3 in the Blueprints Level-II course titled “Understand Job Costs and How to Do an Actual Takeoff” allows for the opportunity for students to do a small take-off on a Residential job. This helps the students to get a feel for the work done by NECA contractors in securing work of the IBEW members who work for them. This is an eye-opening lesson for most students. (This price list is also used in the Residential Job Information 2, Level I, (Based on the 2017 and 2020 NEC) – Lesson 7.)

In many areas, this lesson is done in conjunction with a local contractor also “bidding” the job along with the students. After the bids are submitted, an in-class “bid-opening” presentation is conducted. At the bid-opening each of the student bids are compared to the “correct” bid, which is given by the NECA contractor. This exercise creates a good discussion about why some bids are too high (and why they did not ultimately get the job) and why some are too low (and what would happen if they had received the job and could not perform the job for the submitted price).

Over the years, there has been a material list, with pricing, that accompanies this lesson so that all students were working from the same “playbook.” One of the most common pieces of feedback that the ALLIANCE has received on this lesson is that the prices are not realistic and are outdated. To help to alleviate this problem, we have worked with our Platinum Level Training Partner Graybar to get up-to-date pricing for the material needed for the job. This price list will be updated every two weeks so that the pricing always stays (at least relatively) current.

One point of discussion for your students though, is to realize that the prices shown on the new Electrical Price Sheet are “list” prices, and not necessarily the prices that contractors pay for the material. This subject, once again, provides the opportunity for discussion about “multipliers” and how the amount of business that a contractor does with a supplier (among other things) helps to determine the price that the contractor will pay for material.

To see the new price list click here.