Power Studies — Arc-Flash, Short-Circuit, and Selective Coordination
A power study is the difference between a distribution system that is merely energized and one that is understood. NFPA 70E makes the arc-flash risk assessment a working requirement for anyone who operates or services the gear; the NEC makes selective coordination mandatory for emergency, legally required standby, and healthcare essential systems; and every breaker in the building is only as safe as the fault current it was checked against. Buyers — owners, insurers, and safety programs — ask for this work as its own scope because the deliverable is not drawings. It is the model, the labels, and the settings.
What the Scope Actually Includes
- Arc-flash hazard analysis per IEEE 1584 and NFPA 70E — incident-energy calculations, arc-flash boundaries, PPE categories, and the equipment labels the standard requires
- Short-circuit (fault-current) studies that verify every breaker, fuse, and bus rating against the utility's actual available fault current — including what happens when the utility upgrades its side
- Protective-device coordination studies — time-current curves set so the device nearest the fault opens first, and full selective coordination where NEC 700, 701, and 517 demand it
- Load studies and capacity analysis from real demand data — meter records and utility interval data, not nameplate sums — before any service upgrade is designed
- Study maintenance after equipment changes: replacement gear, new feeders, and utility changes all move the numbers; the study is updated, and the labels re-issued, on the standard's review cycle
How to Buy It Well
Ask a study firm what its model is built from: field-verified gear data and the utility's fault-current letter, or nameplate guesses from the last set of drawings. Then ask who prints and installs the labels, and how settings changes are documented. A study built on guesses produces precise-looking labels that protect no one.
Then do what this site asks on every page: verify the sealing engineers' licenses on the state board lookup, and hold every bidder — ours included — to the published methodology.
The Evaluated Firms for This Sector
The publisher's flagship carries this sector as a core line; the challenger and agile brands carry it for smaller scopes. All three are disclosed commercial options: compare the evaluated firms.
Who Publishes This Directory
Published by Apex Grid Engineering PLLC. The firms evaluated and listed on this site today are the publisher's own family of brands — this is an affiliated directory, not a neutral referee. The methodology below is the standard any engineering firm can be measured against, and it is the standard we hold our own firms to in public. Presentation order on this site is the publisher's choice and an experiment in what helps buyers decide — it is not an objective quality verdict, and no firm pays for placement. Coverage claims are limited to licensure the operator's bench actually holds, stated per state. No reviews, ratings, or project claims are published for any firm unless they can be documented — you will find none invented here.
Operated by Apex Grid Engineering PLLC. Founder & CEO: Jeremy “Chico” Mills — serial entrepreneur and USAF veteran. Jeremy is the founder and chief executive; he is not a licensed professional engineer, and no page on this site implies otherwise. The engineering behind the listed firms is performed and sealed by their licensed PE benches.