Registered Public Utility Engineer - Power study plan
Registered Public Utility Engineer - Power · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
Power System Planning, Load Forecasting, and Resource Adequacy & Generation, Transmission, and Distribution Engineering
Build a one-page load-forecasting method map that contrasts regression, end-use, and econometric approaches and states when each is defensible
Work 15 forecasting problems covering peak-demand normalization, weather normalization, and load-factor derivation, and log each error by cause
Derive from first principles the reserve-margin and loss-of-load-expectation relationships and compute both for a three-unit example
Sketch the planning-to-engineering handoff: how a resource-adequacy shortfall becomes a transmission or generation project scope
Your checkpoint
A 3-page load-forecast and reserve-margin workbook with 15 solved problems, an error-cause log, and a written recommendation for one hypothetical utility's 10-year capacity need
Generation, Transmission, and Distribution Engineering
Size conductors and transformers for a specified feeder given voltage drop, ampacity, and short-time overload limits
Compute per-unit impedances and fault current contributions for a two-bus and a three-bus network by hand
Compare overhead and underground distribution design choices on cost, reliability, and right-of-way constraints
Explain the function of each major substation component from bus to breaker to relay in a labeled single-line diagram
Your checkpoint
A hand-drawn and annotated single-line diagram of a 69/12.47 kV substation with calculated per-unit impedances, fault currents, and a one-paragraph justification of each protective device rating
Power System Analysis, Protection, and Control & Generation, Transmission, and Distribution Engineering
Solve symmetrical-component problems converting unbalanced phase quantities to sequence networks and back
Set overcurrent and distance relay pickup and time-dial values for a radial feeder and check coordination with the upstream device
Analyze transient stability of a single machine against an infinite bus using the equal-area criterion
Describe how SCADA/EMS state estimation and automatic generation control interact during a contingency
Your checkpoint
A protection coordination study for a 4-bus radial system: relay settings table, coordination time-interval check, and a TCC plot sketched to scale with margins annotated
Utility Economics, Cost of Service, and Ratemaking & Regulatory Framework, Tariffs, and Compliance
Build a cost-of-service model that allocates a revenue requirement across demand, energy, and customer components using a stated allocator
Design a three-tier residential tariff and compute bill impacts for low-, median-, and high-use customers
Map each major regulatory filing obligation to its statutory basis and filing cycle
Draft a rate-case testimony outline defending a revenue requirement against an intervenor's challenge
Your checkpoint
A 5-page mock rate case: revenue requirement derivation, class cost-of-service results, proposed tariff schedule, and bill-impact table for three customer archetypes
Safety, Reliability, and Power Quality Standards & Environmental Permitting, Siting, and Grid Interconnection
Apply the relevant reliability and power-quality indices to a set of outage data and identify which customers drive the worst performance
Diagnose five power-quality symptoms (harmonic distortion, voltage sag, flicker, unbalance, transients) and match each to its likely source and mitigation
Sequence the environmental permitting steps for a new transmission line and identify which permits gate construction start
Explain the interconnection study process from feasibility through facilities study and identify the decision points where a project can fail
Your checkpoint
A permitting and interconnection critical-path chart for one hypothetical 230 kV line and 100 MW generator, with each permit and study milestone dated, its issuing authority named, and the three highest schedule risks flagged
Renewable and Distributed Energy Resources Integration & Power System Planning, Load Forecasting, and Resource Adequacy
Calculate hosting capacity for a distribution feeder under voltage-rise and thermal limits and identify the binding constraint
Compare inverter ride-through and volt-VAR control requirements across interconnection standards and explain their grid-support purpose
Quantify how a solar and storage portfolio changes the net-load curve and the resulting ramping and reserve needs
Evaluate whether a proposed DER aggregation should be treated as load or generation for planning purposes and defend the choice
Your checkpoint
A DER integration memo for a 10 MW feeder: hosting-capacity calculation, binding-limit identification, net-load curve before and after DER, and a recommendation with stated assumptions
Asset Management, Operations, and Maintenance & Professional Ethics, Records, and Public Interest Obligations
Build a risk-ranked asset replacement plan from age, condition, criticality, and failure-consequence inputs
Distinguish preventive, predictive, and corrective maintenance strategies and justify a mix for a specified asset class
Apply a professional ethics framework to three conflict scenarios involving safety data, cost pressure, and public disclosure
State the recordkeeping and public-interest obligations that attach to engineering decisions on utility infrastructure
Your checkpoint
An asset management plan for a transformer fleet with a scored criticality matrix, a 5-year replacement schedule, and a written ethics position on one scenario with the reasoning made explicit
Power System Planning, Load Forecasting, and Resource Adequacy & Generation, Transmission, and Distribution Engineering & Power System Analysis, Protection, and Control & Utility Economics, Cost of Service, and Ratemaking & Regulatory Framework, Tariffs, and Compliance & Safety, Reliability, and Power Quality Standards & Environmental Permitting, Siting, and Grid Interconnection & Renewable and Distributed Energy Resources Integration & Asset Management, Operations, and Maintenance & Professional Ethics, Records, and Public Interest Obligations
Take two full-length timed practice exams under exam conditions and score them by domain
Re-derive the ten formulas most often missed, from memory, without notes
Rebuild weak-domain notes into a single condensed reference sheet for the final week
Rehearse the calculation types that consume the most time and set a per-question time budget
Your checkpoint
A scored two-exam diagnostic report with per-domain accuracy, a ranked list of the five weakest areas, and a one-page formula and concept sheet built only from memory and then corrected
Milestones
Week 2: Can compute per-unit impedances and fault currents on a three-bus network by hand in under 20 minutes with no reference sheet
Week 4: Can produce a complete revenue requirement and class cost-of-service allocation for a simple utility without looking up the method
Week 6: Can state the binding constraint on a feeder's hosting capacity and defend it against a challenge to the assumptions
Week 8: Scores at least 70 percent overall and at least 60 percent in every domain on both timed practice exams