Electrical Commissioning Training - Testing, Acceptance Testing, Start-Up and Turnover

Module 1: Commissioning Fundamentals and Standards

• Commissioning compared with acceptance testing and maintenance testing
• Commissioning Levels 1 to 5: factory acceptance testing, site inspection, pre-functional testing, functional testing and integrated systems testing
• ANSI/NETA ATS-2025, ECS-2024 and MTS-2023: what each covers and how to specify them
• What’s new in ATS-2025: battery energy storage (Section 7.28), solar PV (Section 7.29), new medium-voltage cable test values and revised busway formulas
• Tester qualifications: ANSI/NETA ETT-2026, EMW-2026 and NFPA 70B

Module 2: Planning and Managing a Commissioning Project

• The commissioning plan, project roles and division of responsibility
• Test sequence, schedule and resources
• Checklists and functional performance test procedures
• Deficiency tracking and the issues log

Module 3: Documentation and Design Verification

• Single-line diagrams, three-line diagrams and schematics
• Quick reference to ANSI/IEEE device numbers
• Checking power system studies: short circuit, coordination and arc flash
• Submittals, as-built drawings and test report forms

Module 4: Electrical Safety During Testing and Energization

• NFPA 70E-2027 and CSA Z462:24 requirements for test personnel
• Hazards of high-potential (hipot) and high-current testing, and how to set test boundaries
• Lockout/tagout, temporary protective grounding and the electrically safe work condition
• Hazards specific to first energization

Module 5: Test Methods, Equipment and Acceptance Criteria

• Insulation resistance, polarization index (PI), dielectric absorption ratio (DAR) and temperature correction
• Contact resistance, power factor and dissipation factor, and tip-up testing
• Primary injection compared with secondary injection
• Infrared thermography and partial discharge testing
• Exercise: interpreting test results against ATS-2025 acceptance tables

Module 6: Transformer Commissioning

• Inspecting liquid-filled and dry-type transformers
• Turns ratio, winding resistance, excitation current and power factor tests
• Verifying vector group and polarity
• Insulating liquid tests and a baseline dissolved gas analysis (DGA)
• Baseline sweep frequency response analysis (SFRA)

DAY TWO

Equipment Commissioning and Start-Up

Module 7: Switchgear, Circuit Breakers and Cables

• Inspecting and testing switchgear, switchboards and busway
• Low- and medium-voltage breakers: trip unit testing, timing and contact resistance
• Medium-voltage cable acceptance tests: very low frequency (VLF), tan delta and offline partial discharge
• Exercise: reviewing cable test results

Module 8: Instrument Transformers, Protective Relays and Metering

• CT ratio, polarity and excitation tests, and VT verification
• Relay settings verification, secondary injection and trip checks
• IEC 61850 digital substations and GOOSE message testing
• Commissioning revenue meters and power quality meters

Module 9: Grounding, Substation Equipment and DC Systems

• Fall-of-potential testing and ground grid integrity
• Disconnect switches, surge arresters and capacitor banks
• Station batteries and chargers

Module 10: Motors, Drives and Control Systems

• Motor insulation tests, rotation checks and uncoupled runs
• Variable frequency drive start-up
• Control wiring, interlocks and SCADA point-to-point checks

Module 11: Emergency Power, Distributed Energy and Integrated Systems Testing

• Generators, automatic transfer switches (NFPA 110) and UPS systems under ECS-2024
• Commissioning battery energy storage and solar PV under ATS-2025
• Integrated systems testing for data centers and critical power: load banks and failure scenarios

Module 12: First Energization, Start-Up and Turnover

• Switching plans and energization procedures
• Phasing checks, soak periods and verification under load
• Turnover packages, baseline records, and operations and maintenance (O&M) handover
• Commissioning toolkit walkthrough and course review