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Stupidest code change in a while. Probably just because one kid pulled a crock pot off the island or something…
We will still be seeing these for quite a while I think. FL is still on the 2020 electrical code, and still installing them this way on new builds (for now)
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Under the current NEC they’re only a violation when installed as shown in the photo in the OP. They are still permitted under the 2023.
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Didn’t they remove the requirement for there to be an outlet on the island? Now are the outlets required to be pop-up type if installed in the island? Asking for a fren. 
The 2023 Florida Code uses the 2020 NEC. the 2020 FBC uses the 2017 NEC.
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Under the 2023 an island receptacle is no longer required. If one is not installed then provisions to install one at a later time must be installed like a cable or a empty raceway. If one is installed it must be in the countertop surface not on the side as shown in the photo. A pop-up type is one that’s acceptable.
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Thanks Robert, I forgot about this part. 
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I agree, people will just go back to using extension cords again… then the part about having to run the wire (but not install the outlet). 
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Yep, and one more cheap invention that will break after a year.
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Exactly! which is even more dangerous than just keeping the code the way it is!
Its so stupid.
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I agree, this is really stupid. It was added to the code because a few kids pulled on the cord and dragged something off of the island. Poor parenting should not be a code issue.
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I believe this starts in the 2020 NEC?
2023:
210.52(C)(2) Island and Peninsular Countertops and Work Surfaces
Receptacle outlets, if installed to serve an island or peninsular countertop or work surface, shall
be installed in accordance with 210.52(C)(3). If a receptacle outlet is not provided to serve an
island or peninsular countertop or work surface, provisions shall be provided at the island or
peninsula for future addition of a receptacle outlet to serve the island or peninsular countertop or
work surface.
(3) Receptacle Outlet Location
Receptacle outlets shall be located in one or more of the following:
- On or above, but not more than 500 mm (20 in.) above, a countertop or work surface
- In a countertop using receptacle outlet assemblies listed for use in countertops
- In a work surface using receptacle outlet assemblies listed for use in work surfaces or
listed for use in countertops
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Hm. Not sure I agree about that. If something is a safety hazard (like lack of GFCI protection at all kitchen counter receptacles), it’s not due to poor parenting. I understand that a lot of code changes have come about because firefighters get hurt. It’s not poor fire fighting; it’s fire hazards that cause fire safety codes to change.
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The last 2 new builds I inspected, last month, had no receptacles installed on the side of the island, I mentioned it to one of the buyers and he told me the builder told him was now code NOT to install on the side of the island, but for a price, they would install one on the countertop of the island.
So at least in some areas around here, it’s now a thing.
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InterNACHI courses are updated in relation to the latest code changes, including the 2024 IRC 2023 NEC in relation to receptacles at kitchen islands and peninsulas below the counter top. It’s all covered inside https://education.nachi.org/show.php?course_id=13&element_id=17369.
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That’s exactly what the 2023 requires. The provisions for wiring the receptacles are required when there is no receptacle installed.
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I think the issue being alluded to here is the unintended consequences of the code change. Those consequences, such as an increase in the number of people stringing extension cords across their kitchens, can cause new injuries that wouldn’t have happened otherwise. So on net more people may get hurt than helped. Two kids don’t pull a hotplate down on themselves, but ten people start fires by plugging the hotplate into an extension cord.
Another great example of this are the newer overly complicated CARB compliant spill proof gas cans. Because they are substantially more expensive than previous gas cans, more people have used improvised containers. And because many of the new spouts are difficult to operate people break/override the safety mechanisms and more gas gets spilled.
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You just cant fix stupid…there is no way we can code out ignorance…sometimes I think we should just let nature take its course and thin the herd…
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Sort of like a kid with a knife about to put in an electrical receptacle?
“Go ahead son…you’ll only do it once!!”
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I may, or may not, have heard my parents say something similar to that a time or two growing up… 
ooohhhh the good ol’ days…
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