Having just finished commissioning of the electrical service equipment for a project consisting of two new buildings and a switch station expansion on a major university campus, I was struck again by the number and type of things that can go wrong with electrical systems and equipment between the designer putting intent down on paper in the form of drawings and specifications, and the final product being installed and energized.
The scope of the electrical service equipment commissioning is limited to the medium-voltage switchgear, stepdown transformers, and the secondary switchgear or switchboards served directly by them. Because failures at this level can affect the entire building and involve the largest amounts of destructive energy, this equipment is considered the most critical.