Federal Pacific Electric Co. (FPE) was a manufacturer of faulty electrical panel components, most commonly known, Stab-Lok panels. In 1949 the Federal Pacific company filed their first patent and in 1963, a patent for Stab-Lok breakers was filed and soon after gained its Underwriter Laboratories (UL) listing. Sales for the company were strong and was acquired by UV Industries in 1969. It wasn’t until 1978 that the company was sold again to Reliant Electric, then to Exxon oil in 1979. Shortly after Federal Pacific was under the management of Exxon, defects with their breakers were realized. At this time, Exxon filed a lawsuit against Reliant Electric, which caught the attention of Underwriters Laboratories. UL promptly removed their approved listing for the Stab-Lok breakers. Because all electrical components must be certified by an approved agency (UL being one of several),per National Electric Code. If their products were not listed, suppliers would not order them and electrical inspectors would not allow their use. Knowing this, Federal Pacific continued to manufacture faulty components under listing numbers that had been revoked.
After problems persisted with these breakers, in 1984 the Consumer Product Safety Commission decided to run their own tests. Their findings showed that 60 percent of the breakers failed. The breakers would fail to trip, melt, catch fire or even conduct electricity when turned off. In some instances, breakers were tested to 200 percent of their rating and would still fail to trip. It wasn’t until 2005 that Federal Pacific was found guilty in a New Jersey court for being in violation of the Consumer Fraud Act, which sparked a class action lawsuit. Unfortunately it did not end there. Federal Pacific was disbanded and other companies were formed, where they continued to manufacture the same breakers, on the same equipment, in the same factories, just under a different name. American breaker and Federal Pioneer (Canadian) just to name a couple. Replacement breakers are still manufactured today, primarily by Connecticut Electric, but may pose a false sense of safety. If a new breaker is installed, what is the condition and fail rate of the existing breakers? With conflicting reports on the safety and reliability of the new breakers being manufactured, it is safe to assume that any Federal Pacific panel still in use today, should be put out of service.