System Operator Pathway Program
If you are looking towards a new career and you work in the utility industry as a Field Worker this program is for you!!
The System Operator Pathway Program helps both Utility Field Workers and Power System Operators at the same time. Since System Operators are required to obtain NERC CE Hours for recertification, this is a great program where your utility System Operators can obtain NERC CE Hours while helping their Field Worker colleagues achieve NERC Certification and accelerate their careers into the area of Operations.
PAY IT FORWARD
- A utility field worker can get IncSys NERC Prep with Simulation for free when their System Operator colleagues sign up for $2,000 of IncSys NERC CEH approved training.
- The training and unique experiences of Utility Field Workers make them excellent candidates as System Operators.
- The System Operator Pathway program provides certainty that Utility Field Workers are NERC certified before they make a career change.
The success of the Power4Vets™ training program has proven the effectiveness of using simulation-based online training to get personnel who are new to system operations up-to-speed quickly and ready to sit on the desk. It has also proven to be a successful training program for field workers who have taken this same training course and have achieved NERC Certification. The overall training program has a first time pass rate of 88%-90%. There is no other accelerated training approach that gives the students both the simulated experience and situational awareness that is needed to perform at the required level for system operations. This is why IncSys has developed the System Operator Pathway program so that your field workers can catapult their careers into the area of Operations
Industry Candidate Success Stories
Words from Ryan Sanderson
In August of 2018, I promoted to the position Power System Operator 1. As a trainee, I learned all aspects of grid operations, from high voltage switching, dispatching and real time scheduling. After an intensive one-year training program I was assigned to a shift and became a Power System Operator 2. I have taken all that I learned from IncSys and especially the simulation training along with me, and it has contributed to my success as a power system operator. The training played a pivotal role in allowing me to get into the industry and I am grateful for the opportunity the SWAPDA and IncSys provided to help this career path to become a reality for me.
Click here to read more about Ryan Sanderson’s Success Story
Words from Brian Cope
I am very thankful to IncSys and the South East APDA for this scholarship, it has opened up a new door in my career path that would not have been available to me. IncSys Academy’s Power System Operations Course is an excellent online program that I felt did a great job preparing me for passing my NERC Reliability Coordinator Certification with confidence. What I loved about the course was that it really helped me understand the material, not just pass the test, I very recently interviewed and accepted a job offer for a Transmission Operator Trainee position. The IncSys Power System Operations Course training content helped me confidently answer all of the technical questions. The fact that I had passed my NERC exam helped tremendously in getting the job offer. I would recommend IncSys Power System Operations Course to anyone wanting to earn their NERC Certification. The Simulator portions of the program are outstanding! Put that together with good fundamental material and good online lectures that you can watch over and over again until you understand the material, and you’ve got a great comprehensive training program. Thank you IncSys Academy for putting together a great program, for your great support with answering my questions while I was enrolled and what you have done to help me succeed.
Click here to read more about Brian Copes Success Story
Words from James Rowland
I am very grateful for the opportunities that have presented themselves through the American Power Dispatchers Association Scholarship. When I started my career at Burbank Water and Power, I had no idea what a Power System Operator was or did. My interest peaked while working in the substations as an Electrician apprentice and the IncSys Academy was the perfect tool for me to learn everything I could about being a System Operator and pass the NERC RC exam. The quizzes and practice exams tremendously helped me in passing the NERC RC exam, and the simulator exercises were a lot of fun and helped me understand the lessons in real world applications. Thank You, IncSys and South West Association of Power Dispatchers! I’m excited to start applying for PSO positions so I can start putting my new knowledge to use.
Click here to read more about James Rowlands Success Story
NERC PREPARATION WITH SIMULATION COURSE DETAILS
Each of the topics below includes content lectures, simulation exercises, and assessments & quizzes
- Power System Operations Course Orientation
- Power System Generation, Substation & Transmission, Operator Communications, Operator Decision Making, & NERC COM Reliability Standards
- Balancing and Frequency Control
- Transmission Network Flows, Real-Time Assessment & Contingency Analysis
- Voltage and Reactive Power Control
- Emergency Operations (Lectures Only)
- System Restoration (Lectures Only)
- System Protection (Lectures Only)
- Severe Weather, Natural Disasters, & Geomagnetic Disturbances
- Switching (Lectures Only)
- Electricity Generation & Markets (Bonus Course)
NERC EXAM PREPARATION & STUDY MATERIALS
This portion of the program involves in depth coverage of NERC Certification test in a variety of different topics similar to the NERC Reliability Coordinator Exam Outline. It contains a series of sample test questions (796 total questions).
The quiz banks consist of two parts and a final exam:
Practice Quizzes – Part I:
- Balancing – 5 quizzes – 100 total questions
- Emergency Preparedness & Operations – 3 quizzes, 60 total questions
- Interchange Coordination & Scheduling – 3 quizzes, 70 total questions
- Interconnection Reliability Operation & Coordination – 3 quizzes, 55 total questions
- Protection & Control – 2 quizzes, 36 total questions
- System Operations – 2 quizzes, 41 total questions
- Transmission Operations – 3 quizzes, 53 total questions
- Voltage & Reactive – 2 quizzes, 48 total questions
- Communications – 1 quiz, 20 total questions
- Other – 1 quiz, 25 total questions
- Total questions for Part 1: 483 total questions
Practice Quizzes Part II:
- Emergency Preparedness & Operations – Part I – 1 quiz, 35 total questions
- Emergency Preparedness & Operations – Part II – 1 quiz, 30 total questions
- Interchange Scheduling & Coordination – 1 quiz, 36 total questions
- Interconnection Reliability Operation & Coordination – 1 quiz, 8 total questions
- Protection & Control – 1 quiz, 8 total questions
- Resource & Demand Balancing – Part I – 1 quiz, 20 total questions
- Resource & Demand Balancing – Part II – 1 quiz, 24 total questions
- System Operations – 1 quiz, 36 total questions
- Transmission Operations – 1 quiz 28 total questions
- Voltage & Reactive – 1 quiz, 11 total questions
- Total questions for Part 1: 236 total questions
Final NERC RC Exam:
- 82 Question exam which should be taken as a self-timed exam in less than 1.5 hours
Final Oral Board Training Session with an IncSys Trainer
An IncSys Administrator will assess all course completion grades and data and will share this with an IncSys Trainer who will be conducting a oral board session (2 hours minimum) to ensure the student is prepared and ready to take the NERC examination before it is scheduled. All candidates who take the NERC exam are required to provide IncSys with a copy of their NERC test scores.
PSOC Course Curriculum Outline dated 02-23-2023 (PDF Downloadable)