Energizing new electrical gear without surprises
Energization day is when every shortcut from the last six months shows up at once — a shipping split nobody torqued, a CT secondary left open, a green bonding screw still in a sub-panel, a temporary ground left on the bus. None of those are hard to catch. They get missed because the checks live in five different places: the manufacturer's manual, the testing agency's report, the spec, the foreman's head and the GC's schedule. This free startup checklist puts them in one workbook with a readiness summary that won't read READY TO ENERGIZE until every item is Pass or N/A.
What's in the checklist
A. Receiving, visual and mechanical
Nameplate against the approved submittal and one-line. Shipping damage, braces and blocking removed. Anchorage per the detail. Shipping-split bus splices and every field lug torqued with a calibrated wrench and torque-striped — the stripe is how the next person knows it was done. Barriers, arc chutes, covers and deadfronts in place. Interior vacuumed: metal shavings from conduit work inside switchgear are a real failure mode. Breakers rack smoothly and key interlocks work. And the one that ruins days: no open-circuit CT secondaries. A CT with an open secondary under load develops dangerous voltage and can fail violently.
B. Electrical tests
The checklist items point to the Test Records tab, which captures the data:
- Insulation resistance for bus and feeders — all six phase combinations, test voltage, the minimum acceptable value and a pass/fail on the lowest reading. See our insulation resistance testing reference for how IR tests are interpreted.
- Transformer turns ratio on every tap, with % deviation per phase against the tolerance you set.
- Winding resistance with the spread between phases.
- Breaker trip tests — test current, the manufacturer's time band and the measured trip time, plus the as-left settings, which must match the coordination study.
- Contact / bolted-joint resistance, flagged for investigation when one phase deviates too far from the lowest.
- Ground-fault protection performance test where NEC 230.95(C) or 215.10 requires GFP — solidly grounded wye services and feeders over 150 V to ground, 1000 A and larger — with a written record for the AHJ. Verify against the edition in force.
Acceptance criteria are inputs, not hard-coded values. The manufacturer, the project spec and the specified ANSI/NETA ATS edition govern — enter what applies to your job.
C. Grounding and bonding
The main or system bonding jumper at one point only. Neutral isolated from ground at every downstream panel — which means pulling the factory bonding screw or strap in panelboards shipped as service-rated. GEC connected and sized per design, transformer X0 bonded as a separately derived system, and the ground resistance test attached. Use our ground resistance test report for that record.
D. Labeling
Equipment nameplates, arc flash labels from the engineer's study (not generic stickers — see the arc flash label data sheet), available fault current marked at the service, source identification on panels, complete directories, emergency and multiple-source signage, series-rating marking, and conductor identification.
E. Phasing and rotation
Phase rotation checked at the line side before the main is closed. Where two sources meet — a tie breaker or an ATS — phase out across the open device: like phases should read near zero volts. Record line-to-line, line-to-neutral and neutral-to-ground voltages after energization, and bump motors before coupling.
F. The energization sequence
This section is a procedure with times, not a list to skim:
- Switching plan reviewed with everyone; switching order issued.
- Personnel notified and cleared; area barricaded.
- Every temporary protective ground removed — count out equals count in.
- Lockout/tagout removed by the people who applied it.
- Main and all feeders open; covers on; doors latched.
- Operators in PPE per the arc flash label, standing to the hinge side, operating remotely where possible.
- Energize the source, verify voltage and rotation, close the main, then close feeders one at a time.
- Record initial load, schedule an infrared scan once the gear is loaded, and notify operations.
Temporary power plan
Temp power is permanent enough to hurt someone. The Temporary Power Plan tab documents the temp service (size, voltage, meter, disconnect, grounding, inspection), every temp panel, spider box and lighting string with its location and relocation date, and your ground-fault protection method under OSHA 29 CFR 1926.404(b)(1): GFCIs on all 120-volt, single-phase, 15- and 20-ampere receptacle outlets not part of the permanent wiring, or a written assured equipment grounding conductor program. If you run an AEGCP, the cord and tool log records each test, calculates the next due date at three months, and flags anything overdue or failed. NEC 590.6 may require GFCIs for temporary receptacles regardless of an AEGCP — check the edition your AHJ enforces.
GFCI and AFCI test record
One line per device: panel, circuit, location, device type, method, tripped, reset — and PASS only if both. Test with the device button first. Plug-in GFCI testers need an equipment grounding conductor to trip anything; plug-in AFCI testers aren't a valid pass/fail tool. Any device that won't trip or reset is replaced and retested, not reset and forgotten. The summary gives a pass rate for the turnover package.
