Service Grounding / Bonding

Two thoughts on reading through your message come to mind. Are you considering the grounded conductor size in relation to the largest "ungrounded" conductor?

Next: The GRC threaded connections are not always 100% conductive and may break the bonding requirements of the installation. Ungrounded conductors shall be

no smaller than 12.5 percent the size of the largest ungrounded conductor!

Hope the RE-inspection goes well...

Slight typo on my earlier response. The sentence explaining that the "Ungrounded conductors shall be no smaller than 12.5 percent the size of the largest Ungrounded conductor! The first word of this sentence is clearly a typo. THE CORRECT SPELLING SHOULD BE "Grounded". (Probably not worth writing about but I don't want to mislead)

If I am reading this right, the GRC is simply being used as protection for a grounding conductor. If this is true there is no reason to bond the GRC at both ends. The bond is being used to prevent the GRC from "choking" the amperage if there is a fault.

Bonding at both ends doesn't make it any better or any worse, other than the GRC becomes part of the grounding conductor.

As far as the inspector goes he is the "Jurisdiction having authority" making him, by law, correct. It is a problem I have struggled with for forty years. My advice, play nice, if it doesn't cause a possible fire or shock hazard, then its just a difference of opinion.

When you say "pipe" I assume that you actually mean the electrical conduit from the meter base to the panel...

If you bond both ends of a grounding conductor that is bonded to a transformer neutral (i.e. ground to neutral in meter-base and ground to neutral in distribution panel) then you effectively parallel the grounding conductor (in this case your conduit) with the nuetral conductor. Thus your ground will carry 1/2 of the electrical current that is supposed to return through the nuetral conductor and the pipe could shock people when they touch it if the resistance is low enough. Generally this does not happen because the pipe is an easier path to ground than the person touching it.

both ends of the conduit protecting the grounding conductor are bonded to prevent lightning induced current from "choking off" the ground current path.

it's in the book