As of November 2017, NCEES® has officially updated the Electrical Power PE Exam Specifications starting 2018 for all future exams.
They also released a new edition of the NCEES® official practice exam for the Electrical Power PE Exam.
At first, there appears to be a lot of changes but the good news is that the PE exam appears to still be more or less the same.
Let’s take a look at the new exam specs and see how it compares to the older one so that we know what to expect walking into the PE exam in 2018 and beyond.
At the end of this article will be a final thoughts section where we discuss how these changes will affect you if you are taking the electrical PE exam in 2018 or in the future.
P.S. Not sure what additional books to buy to help you prepare and to take with you to the exam? Check out our article on recommended reference books for the electrical power PE exam.
New Electrical Power Exam Specifications
The new specifications have decreased the total number of primary topics from 10 to 9, but the total number of questions is still 80 and it is still split into two 4-hour sessions both morning and afternoon:
Old Exam Specs
(2009 – 2017)
(1) IA. Measurement and Instrumentation
(Number of approx. questions: 6)
(2) IB. Special Applications
(Number of approx. questions: 8)
(3) IC. Codes and Standards
(Number of approx. questions: 10)
(4) IIA. Circuit Analysis
(Number of approx. questions: 8.8)
(5) IIB. Devices and Power Electronic Circuits
(Number of approx. questions: 7.2)
(6) IIIA. Rotating Machines
(Number of approx. questions: 10)
(7) IIIB. Electromagnetic Devices
(Number of approx. questions: 6)
(8) IVA. System Analysis
(Number of approx. questions: 10)
(9) IVB. Power System Performance
(Number of approx. questions: 6)
(10) IVC. Protection
(Number of approx. questions: 8)
New Exam Specs
(2018 – Future)
(1) IA. Measurement and Instrumentation
(Number of approx. questions: 4)
(2) IB. Applications
(Number of approx. questions: 8)
(3) IC. Codes and Standards
(Number of approx. questions: 12)
(4) IIA. Analysis
(Number of approx. questions: 9)
(5) IIB. Devices and Power Electronic Circuits
(Number of approx. questions: 7)
(6) IIIA. Induction and Synchronous Machines
(Number of approx. questions: 8)
(7) IIIB. Electric Power Devices
(Number of approx. questions: 8)
(8) IVA. Power System Analysis
(Number of approx. questions: 11)
(9) IVB. Protection
(Number of approx. questions: 13)
You can see that IVB. Protection now has the highest number of approximate questions at 13, followed closely by IC. Codes and Standards at 12, and IVA. Power System Analysis at 11.
Let’s break down each of the primary topics and look at the changes to the sub-category topics. Some have been moved around and others have been added.
New Exam Specs (2018 – Future) breakdown by primary topic
(1) IA. Measurement and Instrumentation
Number of approx. questions: 4
Measurement and Instrumentation decreased from a previous number of approximate questions of 6 to 4.
Changed:
both sub-categories Wattmeters and VOM metering have been removed, however, there is still a wattmeter question on the new sample exam so don’t expect these to go away anytime soon. It is still important to be familiar with especially the classic and challenging two wattmeter method.
Stayed the same:
Instrument transformers, insulation testing, and ground resistance testing.
(2) IB. Applications
Number of approx. questions: 8
Special applications has now been renamed to just applications and the number of approximate questions has remained the same at 8.
Changed:
Lightning and surge protection have been split into two sub-categories but still remain in this section. The same is true for demand calculations and energy management. Grounding, a sub-category previously located under system analysis has now been moved here to applications.
Stayed the same:
Lightning protection, surge protection, reliability, illumination, demand calculations, energy management, and engineering economics.
(3) IC. Codes and Standards
Number of approx. questions: 12
Codes and standards increased from a previous number of approximate questions of 10 to 12.
Changed:
Electric shock and burns has been renamed to standard for electrical safety in the work place: shock and burns with a mention of the NFPA 70E codebook. I believe NCEES is trying to be more clear that you will most likely need the NFPA 70E codebook to correctly answer any shock and burn related question. Hazardous area classification is a new sub-category has been added with a mention of the following code books: FPA 497, 499, and 30B.
Stayed the same:
NFPA70 has been added to the NEC for the national electrical but this is the same codebook. The NEC is the NFPA70. ANSI C2 has been added to the NESC for the national electrical safety code, but just as before these are the same codebooks. The NESC is the ANSI C2.
(4) IIA. Analysis
Number of approx. questions: 9
Analysis has more or less stayed the same from a previous number of approximate questions of 8.8 to 9.
Changed:
The addition of the following sub-categories: Single-phase circuits, DC circuits, and Single-line diagrams. In my opinion, these are all sub-categories that have already been on the PE exam in the past. For example, in the older sample exam you couldn’t flip pages very long without seeing a single line diagram of a transmission system or of a three phase system. DC circuits were also fair game under batteries and power electronic devices, and single-phase circuits were already extremely common when solving for motor equivalent circuits and single-phase devices like phase transformers. Although these are new sub-categories my opinion is that once again NCEES is just trying to be more clear with you about their expectations.
Stayed the same:
Three-phase circuit analysis, symmetrical components, per unit system, and phasor diagrams.
(5) IIB. Devices and Power Electronic Circuits
Number of approx. questions: 7
Devices and power electronic circuits more or less stayed the same from a previous number of approximate questions of 7.2 to 7.
Changed:
Converters have been added to the second sub-category of power supplies, and PLC’s has been replaced with ladder logic, so be aware. Expect a question or two on ladder logic and a converter in addition to the power supplies you are already familiar with.
Stayed the same:
Battery characteristics and ratings, power supplies, relays, switches, and variable-speed drives.
(6) IIIA. Induction and Synchronous Machines
Number of approx. questions: 8
Rotating machines has been re-named to induction and synchronous machines and has decreased from a previous number of approximate questions of 10 to 8.
Changed:
We lost synchronous machines, induction machines, speed-torque characteristics but gained a new sub-category called electrical machine theory. In my opinion, based on the new re-naming of the primary topic to induction and synchronous machines all three of sub-categories that have been removed have now been lumped into the new sub-category of electrical machine theory. The sample questions contained in the new sample exam also support this idea.
Stayed the same:
Generator/motor applications, Equivalent circuits, and motor starting.
(7) IIIB. Electric Power Devices
Number of approx. questions: 8
Electromagnetic devices has been re-named to electric power devices and increased from the previous number of approximate questions from 6 to 8.
Changed:
The new sub-category of capacitors has been added. Questions on capacitors were seen in all shapes and sizes in the previous sample exam such as being used for power factor correction, solving for farads, and solving for reactive supplied power. In my opinion, capacitors were already fair game on the previous PE exam and once again I believe that NCEES is trying to be more clear in their expectations.
Stayed the same:
Transformers, reactors, and testing.
(8) IVA. Power System Analysis
Number of approx. questions: 11
It appears that the previous power system performance and system analysis have now merged to form power system analysis. System analysis had 10 questions, power system performance had 6 questions, and the new power system analysis has 11 questions. I think it is safe to assume that overall the total number of questions from these categories have decreased from a previous combined number of approximate questions of 16 to 11.
Changed:
Load sharing parallel generators and transformers, and power flow have been removed. These were typically easy to answer questions if you were familiar with the solving methods and just like how wattmeter was removed from measurement and instrumentation but still appeared on the sample exam I wouldn’t expect these to go away anytime soon. It would be safe to assume that these removed sub-categories have been lumped into power flow which still appears in this primary topic. I would study up on them just to be sure. Grounding, previously located here, has been moved to (3) IB. Applications.
Stayed the same:
Voltage drop, voltage regulation, power factor correction and voltage support, power quality, fault current analysis, transformer connections, transmission line models, power flow, and power system stability.
(9) IVB. Protection
Number of approx. questions: 13
Protection has increased from a previous number of approximate questions of 8 to 13 making it the new topic with the most amount of questions to expect on the exam. 13 questions out of 80 is 16.3% of your overall score so do not neglect this primary topic if you are not already familiar with it.
Changed:
A few additional notes were included to be more clear on the expectations of these sub-categories. Differential, distance, under voltage, and pilot were added in parentheses to protective relaying. Fuses, breakers, and reclosers were added in parentheses to protective devices.
Stayed the same:
Overcurrent protection, protective relaying, protective devices, and coordination.
Final Thoughts – How Does This Affect You?
First, download and print the new NCEES® Electrical Power PE Exam Specifications.
I think the biggest take away is that it appears that NCEES® is trying to be more clear in what they expect you to be knowledgeable on for the exam. It definitely appears that they are favoring both protection and codes and standards which are the topics with the most approximate questions.
If you have already taken the PE exam before, or already started studying, my main recommendation is not to panic!
It appears that the material on the exam will be more or less the same besides the change in the number of questions to expect in each primary topic.
Have you seen our article on recommended reference books for the electrical power PE exam? It will help you decide what additional resources to purchase to help you study and to reference with during the PE exam.
In case you missed it, NCEES® also released a new 2018 edition of their official practice exam for the Electrical PE Exam.
Do you think there are any major changes to the PE exam besides what we outlined above? Comment down below and let us know! We respond to all comments.
I agreed that there is not much change (number increased or decreased), but definitely like to be prepare much better for the exam this time around.
Absolutely.
Be careful Arturo, some of the subjects that were removed from the specs are still included in the updated NCEES practice exam like wattmeters and parallel loads so best to still be prepared for them.
If you want the full details make sure you read the article on the updated NCEES sample exam, it’s linked at the top and bottom of this article.
Does the online class reflect the changes on the test?
Sure does. We’ve reorganized the information in the online course to match the new specifications. You can see the course layout by scrolling to the “curriculum” section on the main course landing page here: https://courses.electricalpereview.com/courses/electrical-power-review-course
Zach,
you are always on the top of everything, updates are very important to be aware off, thanks
You are most welcome Rania.
I noticed it says load sharing parallel generators and transformers will be removed. What about questions that say “two single phase transformers are paralleled what’s T1 continuation” and questions like “a system consists of two motors paralleled what’s the systems power factor” ?
Thank you
Hi John, your first example would be parallel loads and your second example is power factor correction.
Even though parallel loads were removed from the 2018 specs I would still take the time to be familiar with them. Notice that even though wattmeters are no longer on the updated 2018 specs, they still appear in the updated NCEES sample exam. Something to thing about.
load sharing parallel generators and transformers will be removed? Where is this documented i’d rather study and not need it than forget it and then find out it wasn’t removed.
Hi Jon, we’ve relocated this material for load sharing transformers (or generators) to Ch 8.8 Power Flow inside the online course.
Just as how wattmeters were removed from the 2018 specs but still appear in updated 2018 NCEES sample exam I agree that parallel load sharing is still good information to be aware of for the PE exam.
Important to stay current with the latest exams. Some of the items I thought I needed are no longer on the test.
Th able for giving a nice, consolidated overview of the changes. This helps me decide how much trust to put into old practice exams and pe study materials. You’re on top of it!
This is excellent information on the changes of PE Exam in 2017. I am definitely using it.
I’m taking the PE Power Exam for the first time. I was staring at the Exam Spec for a while. and don’t know what to expect out of a range of possible topics. This breakdown is very helpful in conjunction to Zach’s course providing another in-depth look of what to expect and focus our energy on. Now, I am putting more focus on Protection and Codes/Standards into my study.
Hey Zach
This is a great breakdown of all the sections. You really take the time to make it clear what you believe are the changes, which helps understand potential study strategy.
thanks
This was a great breakdown of the material that has changed (or lack there of). I had purchased practice material thinking I would have taken the exam earlier but since I did not, the exam had updated. This was a nice description to help me with what references were still valid and what were not. Thank you for this!
This article is one that convinced me to take this course – I had seen previews for other courses and the professor didn’t even know the exam specifications had changed! Zach really puts a lot of time into making sure the course is up to date and making sure the topics are explained in clear, simplified ways. Thanks!