What's on the PE Power Exam? A Breakdown by Topic

The Professional Engineering (PE) Power Exam is a milestone for electrical engineers seeking licensure and further development of their professional careers. The exam tests an engineer's minimum competence to practice independently as a power system practitioner. With its broad scope spanning power generation, transmission, and distribution, the PE Power Exam can be intimidating without proper preparation.

In this blog, STUDY FOR FE segments the exam material and shows you a map of what you need to understand to pass the exam on the first try.

Exam Overview

The morning session PE Power Exam is delivered conventionally as a computer-based test. The 80 multiple-choice questions must be completed within an 8-hour time frame. The two-section test consists of:

• Breadth section: There are 40 questions here covering a range of power engineering topics.

• Depth section: The other 40 questions examine a specific topic in power engineering, e.g., power systems, control systems, or electrical machines.

The PE Power Exam is administered by the NCEES (National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying), which issues an official blueprint to detail the exam content. The blueprint is broken into a sequence of technical topics, and knowledge of these is essential for targeted preparation.

Topic Breakdown

1. Power Systems (15-25%)

Power systems are the core of the PE Power Exam. This subject entails a broad range of concepts and principles, such as:

• Generation: Various sources of power generation (fossil fuel, nuclear, renewable sources, etc.).

• Transmission and Distribution: Transmission principles of electrical power, high voltage transmission lines, substations, transformers, and distribution systems.

• Load Flow Analysis: Methods of power flow analysis across a network.

• Fault Analysis: Behavior of the power system under faults such as short circuits or line faults. 

• Power System Protection: Protective relaying, circuit breakers, etc., to avoid damage to equipment. 

• Stability and Control: Knowledge of how to maintain a power grid's stability and frequency control. 

Mastering this section is important because power systems comprise a good part of the examination and form the foundation for the work of the electrical engineer, the power sector at large.

2. Electrical Machines (10-20%)

Knowledge of electrical machines is the second most crucial aspect of the PE Power Exam. The subject covers:

• Motors and Generators: AC and DC machines, their operation mode, and industry applications.

• Transformers: Transformer design, operation, and efficiency in the context of power transmission and voltage regulation.

• Machine Protection: Protection of electrical machines against overloads, faults, and failures.

You should understand machine theory and how machines work in power generation and distribution systems.

3. Electrical Circuit Analysis (10-15%)

Circuit analysis is a necessary skill for every electrical engineer. This chapter will challenge your problem-solving skills in the following areas:

• AC and DC circuits: Application of circuit laws (Ohm's law, Kirchhoff's laws) to analyze resistor, capacitor, inductor, etc., circuits.

• Impedance and Reactance: Calculate and understand impedance in alternating current (AC) circuits.

• Phasor Analysis: A technique of simplifying AC circuit analysis using phasors and complex numbers.

4. Control Systems (5-15%)

Control systems are crucial elements of contemporary power systems, especially in the stability and performance control. This subsection contains feedback control: Feedback control system principles and their application to ensuring system stability.

• Transfer Functions: Mathematically modeling control systems using Laplace transforms and transfer functions.

• Stability Analysis: Techniques for system stability analysis, e.g., root locus, Bode plots, and Nyquist plots.

5. Power Electronics (5-15%)

Power electronics solves the task of electronic devices to manage and modify electrical power. Power electronics consists of:

• Rectifiers, Inverters, and Converters: The function and topology of these devices form the cornerstone of contemporary power systems and the integration of renewable sources of energy.

• Switching Devices: Power transistors and thyristors and their usage in the control of electric power flow.

• Power Quality: The integrity and quality of electrical power; this includes minimal harmonic distortion and voltage sag.

Power electronics is a dynamic field of electrical engineering, where knowledge and principles are acquired to grapple with the limits placed by the surrounding challenges of modern power systems.

6. Protective Relaying and Instrumentation (5-10%)

Protection and monitoring are required to ensure the reliability and safety of power systems. This subject includes:

• Protection Systems: Circuit breakers, fuses, and other protective elements protect the system during faults.

• Instrumentation: Instrumentation equipment for measuring voltage, current, and other power system parameters.

Conclusion

PE Power Exam is holistic, covering anything from simple electrical circuits to complicated power systems and protection systems. You can confidently confront the exam by isolating the topics and prioritizing learning topics like power systems, electrical machines, control systems, and power electronics.

STUDY FOR PE tells you to invest in good quality study materials, drill on practice questions, and familiarize yourself with the exam format to position yourself for your best opportunity to pass the PE Power Exam on the first attempt. With enough prep and a good plan of attack, you'll be well down the road toward earning your PE license and advancing your power engineering career.