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In-person · Council Bluffs, IAElectrical safety training in Council Bluffs, IA
Council Bluffs has hosted Google's flagship Iowa data center campus since 2009, and Google keeps expanding it. We train the electricians and technicians who build and run it, and the contractors who cross the river to Omaha, at your facility or in an in-person class we set up in Council Bluffs when you ask.
Iowa runs its own OSHA-approved state plan. Private employers here are inspected by Iowa Division of Labor, Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing — Iowa OSHA, not federal OSHA. Every class is live, on the 2027 edition of NFPA 70E, and taught by a Certified Safety Professional. Iowa electrical safety training requirements →
Among the teams we have trained in the last year
Four ways to train your Council Bluffs crew
Crews we train in and around Council Bluffs: data center construction and commissioning, data center operations, rail, utilities and generation, manufacturing and food processing, electrical contractors.
What the class covers for Council Bluffs crews
Council Bluffs is under the Iowa OSHA state plan, and Omaha and Sarpy County are under federal OSHA. We help contractors build one electrical safety program that satisfies both.
A Google-funded program aims to grow Iowa's electrical apprentice pool to about 700 by 2030. Many of those apprentices will start on data center jobs, and they need arc flash and shock fundamentals before they are near energized gear.
Iowa and Nebraska both license electricians, and crews crossing the river may need both credentials. Neither license makes a worker NFPA 70E qualified. The employer documents that.
Expansion buildings go live next to halls that never shut down. We cover how to verify an electrically safe work condition when sources change during commissioning.
Council Bluffs at a glance
Iowa OSHA (state plan)
MidAmerican Energy
Statewide (Iowa); Nebraska separate
OMA (Eppley)
Central
Iowa: what applies to your crews
Enforcement: Iowa OSHA
Iowa runs an OSHA-approved state plan through Iowa OSHA, part of the Iowa Division of Labor. It covers private employers and state and local government in Council Bluffs.
Licensing: statewide
The Iowa Electrical Examining Board, administered by the Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing, licenses journeyman, master and residential electricians and registers electrical contractors. Local jurisdictions can add their own requirements.
Where NFPA 70E fits
NFPA 70E is a consensus standard. Employers and Iowa OSHA inspectors use it to show how the electrical requirements in OSHA 1910 Subpart S and 1926 Subpart K are met.
Council Bluffs's electrical work environment
Council Bluffs sits on the Iowa side of the Missouri River, across from downtown Omaha. Lincoln designated it the starting point of the transcontinental railroad, and Union Pacific, BNSF, Iowa Interstate and Canadian National all still serve the city.
Google arrived in 2007 and finished its first phase in 2009. It now runs two campuses here totaling about 2.9 million square feet, with more construction underway as part of a $7 billion Iowa commitment announced in June 2025.
Many contractors here work both sides of the river in the same week. That means two OSHA programs and two electrician licensing boards.
MidAmerican Energy on the Iowa side
MidAmerican Energy serves Council Bluffs and operates a large coal-fired generating station near the city's southern limits. Across the river, the Omaha Public Power District serves the Nebraska side of the market.
Google has also signed a 25-year agreement to buy power from the Duane Arnold nuclear plant near Cedar Rapids once it restarts, targeted for 2029, to run its Iowa data centers. For local crews, the growth means new substations, high-capacity feeders and customer-owned medium-voltage gear on the campuses.
Who we train in Council Bluffs and southwest Iowa
Electrical subs and commissioning agents on the Google expansion, where buildings energize in phases.
Critical facilities technicians on UPS, switchgear and battery systems.
Electrical and signal maintenance crews in yards and shops serving four railroads.
Plant, substation and line crews supporting MidAmerican's generation and delivery system.
Maintenance electricians at food, foundry and equipment plants in the city.
Contractors running crews on both sides of the river under two OSHA programs.
Also serving
Questions from Council Bluffs employers
Do you have a scheduled class in Council Bluffs?
Our crews work in both Iowa and Nebraska. Does one class cover both?
Can you train apprentices who are new to data center work?
Can you train on site during the Google expansion?
Does finishing the class make someone a qualified electrical worker?
What the people in the room say
“Virtual can never replace hands-on, but the engagement from our instructor and the class made it feel more engaging than some in-person courses I've taken.”
“Probably one of the most useful safety courses I've ever attended. Rick genuinely cares about people and their well-being.”
“This is the 2nd arc flash training course I've taken and the class was amazing. I feel like I'm leaving the training safer than before I took this class.”
Train your Council Bluffs crew on the 2027 edition.
Onsite within a few days, or private live virtual as soon as tomorrow. Need it fast? Call (813) 725-0999.