On December 2020, NCEES® transitioned the Power PE Exam from the previous paper and pencil format to the new computer based testing (CBT) format.
Instead of receiving an exam booklet with questions and a key to bubble in with a pencil, the PE exam is now taken on a computer at authorized testing locations and answers are selected on a computer monitor using a keyboard and mouse.
The biggest change to the CBT format from the older paper and pencil format is that outside references are no longer permitted in the exam room, and that the exam is no longer open book.
Instead of being required to bring in your own references and code books, NCEES® now provides you in digital format their official Reference Handbook (that you can download in advance from your NCEES® account) and all code books directly on the exam computer for you to reference while taking the PE exam.
Electrical PE Review students are encouraged to purchase both the official NCEES® Power PE Practice Exam, and the National Electrical Code®. All other material needed to pass the exam is included with our large comprehensive online class.
The list below serves as a supplemental guide to additional third party material ranked in order of priority based on what we have found to work for us and from exit interviews with hundreds and hundreds of successful students that the PE exam after completing an online semester in our program.
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The Texas Instruments TI-36X Pro Scientific Calculator is the approved calculator by NCEES® that we recommend for the PE exam.
Let’s face it, no matter how good you are your still going to have a hard time solving complex math calculations on the exam without a good calculator. We like it due to its intuitive layout, ease of use, and ability to handle complex numbers in both rectangular and polar form with ease. With this calculator, you can mix rectangular numbers with polar numbers and let the calculator worry about converting for you. You can also easily convert an answer from rectangular to polar and vice versa to quickly answer questions in different complex number formats.
We strongly recommend bringing two exam approved calculators with you to the PE exam as cheap insurance. Every year we hear horror stories of calculators malfunctioning, breaking, or losing battery during the exam. Don’t risk all of your hard work on just one calculator. At a price of just $20 it makes sense to bring two.
You can read our in-depth article on why we chose the Ti-36X Pro as the best calculator for the Electrical PE Exam here: Electrical PE Review: TI-36X Pro – the best Calculator for the Electrical Power PE Exam
Our Recommendation: Buy two, no questions asked.
Honorable Mention: Download the TI-36x Pro Guidebook (User Manual) for free directly from the Texas Instruments (no affiliation): Ti-36X Pro Guidebook (English) PDF.
Honorable Mention: Instead of the TI-36x Pro, some engineers prefer the Casio fx-115ES PLUS . Both calculators are capable of handling complex numbers with ease, however, we find the Casio to be much less intuitive to use and it will have a learning curve if you are used to the Ti family of calculators. You may prefer this calculator if you are already familiar with it, if not stick to Ti.
(Reminder: the digital version of this book is included with all of our paid enrollment plans).
The primary goal of this book is to help you dramatically improve your overall PE exam score by increasing your understanding across all exam subjects as quickly as possible. It is intended to be a powerful learning tool that will rapidly improve your overall exam proficiency.
The average level of difficulty for each problem will be greater than what you can expect to see on the PE exam. This is intentional. You will be challenged. You will be pushed. You will learn far more than you ever thought possible for the Electrical Power PE Exam from one single practice exam.
With the transition of the Power PE Exam from paper-and-pencil to the new computer-based test (CBT) format, NCEES® introduced four new types of exam questions in addition to multiple choice. These new exam questions are known as alternative item type (AIT) questions. There has been a lack of AIT-focused study material on the market to help engineers prepare for the PE exam until the publication of this book that you now hold in your hands.
Compared to multiple-choice questions, AIT questions can be much more difficult. Answering AIT questions correctly will require you to really challenge and refine your understanding of each PE exam subject area, especially when it comes to maximum or minimum values, interpreting graphs, proper rounding, and how each variable in any given relationship relates with the others. Each AIT practice problem that you are able to fully understand after working through the detailed solutions in this book represents a new relationship that you now have a much stronger grasp of and that can be applied to a higher number of exam questions, especially the much more common multiple-choice-type question. Taking the time to work through these problems will likely result in a much higher overall exam score with a greater chance of passing.
Our Recommendation: This is our newest practice exam and is the most effective book available on the market to help prepare you for the new CBT format, help you identify your problem areas and mistakes, and help maximize your score on the actual PE exam for your greatest chance at passing on your next attempt. Get the hard copy if you want the best practice exam to learn from.
Click here to view this book on Amazon.
(Reminder: the digital version of this book is included with all of our paid enrollment plans).
Looking to get your hands on the best practice exam that will prepare you for the real PE exam and also explain each step of every problem? Stop wasting time chasing missing steps and get a hard copy of the Electrical Engineering PE Practice Exam and Technical Study Guide by Zach Stone, P.E. to get a taste of what the PE exam is really like.
Each question in the Practice Exam and Technical Study Guide is written with similar language and keywords that you can expect to see on the real PE exam. It is designed to challenge your thinking and expose you to real exam-like conditions. You’ll be solving for different types of units, dealing with red herrings, and answering both qualitative and quantitative problems.
NCEES® seems to be increasing the number of qualitative theory-based questions every year. So to help get you ready for the PE exam, we have included 26 total qualitative questions in the Practice Exam and Technical Study Guide to give you plenty of practice navigating your reference books to help you get used to answering difficult theory based questions. The Practice Exam and Technical Study Guide has the same question distribution per subject as the official NCEES® exam specifications, and each question was hand-selected for a difficulty level that is comparable to the PE exam to give you the best idea of what to expect when you take the real exam. There are also 13 codes and standards questions, just like the PE exam.
Unlike other practice exams, you’ll never get stuck following along thanks a tremendous level of detail in every solution, including diagrams and illustrations included for every problem solution. Each solution is one to three pages with explanations that are dedicated to helping you not only answer but understand each problem in the practice exam so that you’ll be able to answer similar questions on the PE exam.
To help you learn while you work through each problem, every solution is filled with circuit diagrams, phasor diagrams, formulas, and often solved with multiple approaches so that you can understand the answer from every angle possible.
The Electrical Engineering PE Practice Exam and Technical Study Guide is approximately 200 pages long and features 80 practice PE questions split between a morning and afternoon session. It is intended to act as a technical study guide in addition to a practice exam in order to better prepare you for the real exam.
Our Recommendation: This is the best educational content to date for the electrical power PE exam written and illustrated by Zach Stone, PE. Get the hard copy if you want the best practice exam to learn from.
Click the image above to visit the NCEES® (no affiliation) website for the practice exam.
This should be the first practice exam for the Electrical Power PE Exam. Anyone that has already taken the PE exam will tell you that NCEES® is extremely skilled at crafting challenging questions based on the information given, information not given, the particular vocabulary used, and possible answer choices that will force you to second guess your answer for each question. While it is highly unlikely to see exact matches on the actual PE exam from the NCEES® sample exam, what you can expect is similar uses in vocabulary and question setup.
Remember, NCEES® makes the actual PE exam that you will be taking. Your best bet is to get familiar with their word usage and question style as early as possible to prepare you for the real thing.
Just a friendly reminder that Electrical PE Review, INC is a private entity from, and not affiliated with NCEES®.
Our Recommendation: Buy it no questions asked. This should be one of the first books you purchase.
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The 2017 version of the National Electrical Code® (NFPA 70 NEC®) is the version currently being tested on.
The 2017 National Electrical Code® Handbook Edition (NFPA70, NEC®) is a valuable tool to help you learn the code book.
With the 2018 Changes to the Electrical Power PE exam specifications, the subject Codes and Standards now has the second-highest approximate number of 12 questions. In addition to more direct code questions, expect to have to dig into your code books to look up numerical values to use in your calculations on questions from other subjects.
The Handbook version of the National Electrical Code® is about the same price and contains the entire codebook in addition to supplemental diagrams, graphs, step by step examples of how to apply the code, and added commentary directly following newer code and code that is often misinterpreted or hard to follow. It is extremely helpful.
As with all codebooks used on the exam, you should first talk with your employer about covering the cost for an office copy that you can use to study from and bring with to the exam if your personal copy is currently out of date. You should have no problem convincing your employer to make this purchase if your workplace doesn’t already have a copy in its library for you to use. Every workplace in the electrical industry should have one readily available.
Our Recommendation: Buy the 2017 handbook edition no questions asked. If your employer will pick up the tab even better.
Honorable Mention: Download and print out the FREE Mike Holt Enterprises (no affiliation) NEC® 2017 Index . Mike’s index is laid out in a much more intuitive format than the NEC® index. We recommend using it when looking up new unfamiliar code.
Honorable Mention: NEC® Tabs are a great way to help organize your code book and quickly find what you need. There are several different companies that make tabs however our favorite are the Mike Holt National Electrical Code® Tabs ($15) (no affiliation).
Honorable Mention: Need extra practice looking up code questions? The Complex Imaginary Electrical Code Drill Book (updated for the 2017 NEC®) (no affiliation) is a fantastic and inexpensive way to practice looking up many obscure codes in the National Electrical Code®.
Our live online class for the NCEES® Electrical Power PE Exam is designed to teach you the material listed on the electrical power PE exam specification faster than any other method available.
Our comprehensive online class includes the following:
We have two pricing options for our program. The first is a pay-as-you-go Monthly Subscription Plan, the second is a 6 Month Unlimited Package that starts on the date of purchase.
A good place to start, if you have not already, is to sign up for the Free Trial of the On-demand Review Course.
Our Recommendation: Even if you can only afford a one or two-month subscription, online class is the fastest way to learn what you need to pass the PE exam.
Click the image above to visit the Amazon listing for this book.
We’ve found Power Systems Analysis and Design by Ducan Glover to have the best explanations, details, and examples on the subject of protection compared to any other book. Relay books are notorious for being difficult to understand if you don’t already have a base level of understanding from the industry.
This book also has fantastic chapters on many other additional topics that appear on the exam making it not only a great protection reference but also a great overall electrical PE exam reference. With the NCEES® 2018 Changes to the Power PE exam specifications , the subject of protection now has the highest approximate number of questions at 13. Expect to be answering lots of questions on relaying both quantitative (math) and qualitative (theory).
Our Recommendation: BUY THIS BOOK! This will be your go-to reference for answering and practicing the subject with the largest number of questions on the exam: protection. If you can find the solution manual to this book it will be one of your greatest assets. At the very least you should have a copy of this book, Wildi’s book on Electrical Machines, Drives, and Power Systems (#6 shown below), and the relevant code books.
Honorable Mention 1: The Art and Science of Protective Relaying by Mason. This book was recently made available for free online in PDF format by GE. This is a great resource but it is very light and simple so do not expect it to answer every question you’ll see on the PE exam but go ahead and add to your references since it is free, it can’t hurt.
Honorable Mention 2: Protective Relaying: Principles and Applications by Blackburn and Domin. This used to be our number 1 recommendation for protection, however, even though it is by far one of the largest comprehensive resources out there on the subject of protection, this has a very limited number of worked out example problems making this book difficult to learn from and not a good candidate for practice problems. If you have the budget and are looking to have all of your bases covered on the subject then this would still be a valuable resource and quite effective at answering tougher qualitative questions on protection. That being said, do not buy this book unless you already have Power System Analysis and Design by Glover, Sarma, and Overbye.
Click the image above to visit the Amazon listing for this book.
Electrical Machines, Drives and Power Systems by Theodore Wildi is one of our favorite, most comprehensive books for the electrical power PE exam.
This book is the absolute go-to reference for some of the harder exam topics such as:
Since it reads like a college textbook there are plenty of practice problems at the end of each chapter (although you may have to search online to find a solution manual) and plenty of in-depth explanations that make the more difficult concepts intuitive and easy to understand on the fundamental level which is key to solving different varieties of the same question.
All of those “out of left field” conceptual theory questions that some people complain about on the PE exam that are hard to study for and anticipate?
This book will be an asset in answering just about every one of those if you leave yourself enough time at the end of the exam to go back and reference the harder questions.
Our recommendation: Buy it no questions asked. See if you can buy a used or international version on Amazon for less money. At the very least you should have a copy of this book and Blackburn’s Protective Relaying book.
Click the image above to visit the Amazon listing for this book.
Chapman’s Electric Machinery and Power System Fundamentals is a fantastic book on transformers and rotating machines like motors and generators. Many of the transformer equivalent circuits in the new NCEES® Reference Handbook for the Power CBT PT Exam are directly from this book. The examples are easy to follow and the explanations are very clear.
Our recommendation: If you’re looking for more practice on transformers, motors, and generators then purchase this book. Linked above is the less expensive international edition. If there are no copies available, try to regular hardcopy version.
Click the image above to visit the Amazon listing for this book.
Need help with code questions on the PE exam? Ray Holder’s 2017 Journeyman Electrician Exam Questions and Study Guide is an excellent source of National Electrical Code® practice problems. Although it was written for journeyman electricians, it will work great for familiarizing yourself with the codebook. This book is quite large and an excellent purchase since it is reasonably priced.
Our recommendation: Codes and Standards is the second-largest subject tested on the Power PE Exam. If you want to pass the PE exam, you’ll need to be comfortable with quickly answering code questions. The vast majority of code questions come from the National Electrical Code®. At under $40 for this book, everyone taking the Power PE Exam should purchase it for extra practice.
Click the image above to visit the Amazon listing for this book.
Linden’s Handbook of Batteries is the battery bible. It is by far the most comprehensive book on batteries and covers every type of primary (non-rechargeable) and secondary (rechargeable) battery including chemistry reaction, electrical circuit characteristics, applications, and more. This book is HUGE!
Ch 5.2 Battery Characteristics and Ratings (NCEES® II.B.1.) continues to become more prominently featured on the PE exam. It is important to be able to answer a wide variety of not only quantitative battery circuit problems but also qualitative battery application and theory questions.
Our recommendation: If you are looking for a book that can answer any battery question on the PE exam then buy this book. This book can be a little costly (more than $100), so look for cheaper older editions that will be just as useful.
Click the image above to visit the official Complex Imaginary (no affiliation) website.
The complex imaginary books have been around for quite some time and is one of the largest volumes of practice questions around.
With 4 full-length practice exams and solutions, this book will keep you busy for quite some time.
In our experience, the questions contained in this book tend to be a bit repetitive and seem to favor certain questions and topics over others. So with that in mind do not study solely off of this book since it is not a close match to the actual PE exam. If you do, you will be sorely disappointed and in for a surprise come exam day.
However, the sheer volume of questions it contains and the solutions makes this practice book an extremely valuable asset. You will be able to tell after completing the second out of four practice exams which style of questions this book prefers. It will give you incredible strength at solving these questions, but to be successful you will need to go elsewhere for the type of questions it does not contain. However, do not let that put you off studying from this book.
Keep in mind that this is a practice exam book, it does not contain any references or teach any topics.
This is a good book to make up the bulk of your study sessions that are dedicated to grinding practice problem after practice problem.
Our recommendation: Buy it, but it should not be the only practice book in your library. Combine it with a book that teaches topics like Graffeo’s Guide below for maximum effectiveness.
Click the image above to visit the Amazon listing for this product.
The Electrical Engineer’s Guide to Passing the Power PE Exam by Alexandar Graffeo tends to be a favorite among some examinees and it is very obvious why.
We like to think of this book as the swiss army knife of references for the electrical power PE exam. It mostly focuses on explanations and concepts in a very light, simple, and a no-nonsense way that is easy to learn from and tends to be lighter on the number of practice questions.
Graffeo’s book is an ideal reference to turn to when starting a new topic that you are unfamiliar with, or when you notice you are struggling to answer specific topics correctly. Expect it to give you a very good and broad overview of just about every topic on the exam which is why we think it serves as a good introduction to new topics, but don’t expect it to go in depth on every single topic. You still may find yourself searching for some of the more elusive details to certain topics that serve as the key to solving some of the more complex questions. However, this is still a fantastic resource and when used in combination with a large question-based practice book like the complex imaginary practice set above, turns into quite the powerful tool.
Our recommendation: buy it. Combine with a resource that has a large volume of practice questions like the Complex Imaginary set (or Spin-Up) for the best outcome.
Click the image above to visit the Amazon listing for this product.
Power System Analysis by Grainger and Stevenson is another fantastic reference book that has aged well for the PE exam in electrical power.
Power System Analysis by Grainger and Stevenson is another powerhouse that also reads like a college textbook with plenty of practice questions at the end of each chapter (but just as for Wildi’s book, you may need to see if you can find a solution manual online).
This is one of our favorite books for:
The diagrams in this book are the best part and are especially useful for understanding some of the more complex concepts such as the rotation of phasors.
Just as with Wildi’s book, this book is also fantastic at helping you answer those hard to anticipate conceptual theory questions that show up on the exam that you are not likely to answer correctly if you don’t have a reference that contains the answer.
Don’t let the large price tag scare you, you can find used copies or paperback copies on Amazon for less than 20 bucks!
Our recommendation: This is a solid reference and a great buy but you should purchase Black Burn’s Protective Relaying and Wildi’s Electrical Machines book first. Look for the paperback or used editions on Amazon for a discounted price. The ACRS GMR tables are useful if the problem does not give you the GMR value for a named stranded ACSR conductor for transmission line problems.
Click the image above to visit the Amazon listing for this product.
The 2017 version of the National Electrical Safety Code (ANSI C2, NESC) is the version currently being tested on.
The National Electrical Safety Code (C2-2017), 2017 Edition is one of the codebooks that you’ll need for the subject Codes and Standards which now has the second-highest approximate number of questions on the exam according to the new the Power PE Exam specifications.
The majority of questions in this subject will most likely come from the National Electrical Code® however it is probably safe to assume that you will see at least one to two questions on the PE exam based on the NESC codebook.
At $200 this book is not cheap and is probably something you are not likely to use often if you are not working in an industry dealing with hands-on maintenance. As with all codebooks, you should first check to see if your workplace has the correct edition in its library to borrow while you study for the exam. If not, you should bring it up to your employer that they do not have the updated version in the office and see if they will cover the cost of the book for your workplace that you can use.
If your workplace does not have the correct edition, and your employer will not cover the cost of an office copy, then you should weigh out the decision if purchasing a $210 codebook that you will probably not use in the future is worth studying for the 1 to 2 problems you might encounter on the exam. If you have the budget for it, purchase it. If you are already tight on funds, you may decide to not purchase it.
Don’t forget that you can most likely sell the book to future examinees once you pass the exam to reduce the overall cost.
There are two different handbook editions of the NESC. If you do purchase this book, we recommend to just buy the standard codebook. Unlike the NEC, you will most likely not need the additional information presented in the handbook edition. If for some reason you do decide to purchase the handbook edition, for example, if you use this book often at your workplace, then make sure you buy the correct handbook edition. The cheaper, less than $100 McGraw-Hill NESC Handbook Edition does NOT contain the entire NESC code and should NOT be purchased for the PE exam. The more expensive Premier Edition NESC Handbook by the IEEE of the NESC DOES contain the entire NESC along with commentary and examples, similar to how the NEC handbook contains all of the NEC in addition to commentary and examples.
Our recommendation: Try to get your employer to purchase this book for you.
Click the image above to visit the Amazon listing for this product.
Engineering Economic Analysis by Donald Newnan is the most straight forward book for learning and practicing engineering economics.
This subject does not make up a large portion of the exam, most of us are not familiar with the subject and have to learn it for the first time to pass the PE exam. Most engineer economic problems you can expect to see on the exam will be straightforward, the trouble is like any other topic on the exam, the volume and variety of questions NCEES could pick from to throw at you are quite large.
The good news is that this book is very inexpensive at about $25 for the paperback edition, and it is very simple to follow, with plenty of in chapter examples that are not too difficult. There are examples of every type of problem that you can expect. I wish every other math and engineering book out there followed this book as a template.
I took this book with me to the PE exam and answered every single engineering economics question correctly by being able to find an exact match (with different numbers) of the PE question to an in chapter exercise in the book. Since the book is laid out so well it was extremely easy to find matching examples.
Our recommendation: If you are not very comfortable with engineering economics, want extra practice, and want to make sure you can answer just about any engineering economics questions on the PE exam then this book is a steal at only $25 for the paperback.
Click the image above to visit the Amazon listing for this product.
All of the already mentioned references should keep you very busy and chances are you will not be able to cover all of it before it is time to take the PE exam. However, if you would like to add even more practice questions to your arsenal, the Spin-Up for the Electrical and Computer Engineering PE Exam (Power): Five Sample Exams by Cory Lanza is another classic recommendation. With a set of 5 full-length practice exams, it will most definitely keep you busy.
The only downside to this book is that students tend to find it a bit dated, and the questions very simple and easy compared to what you will see on the PE exam.
People tend to either prefer the Spin-Up practice exam set or the Complex Imaginary set. If you don’t like the complex imaginary set then we suggest picking up a copy of Cory Lanza’s Spin-up. Or, if you really want to diversify, pick up both. While the latest edition (5th) of Spin-up is $120, you can get the previous edition (4th) for only $40 which is a no-brainer in our opinion.
Our recommendation: Buy this book if you are looking for more diversity of practice problems to study with, or if you do not like the Complex Imaginary practice problems. Be sure to be extremely familiar with NCEES®’s style of vocabulary and questions from their practice exam because the questions in this book tend to be very simple in comparision.
Click the image above to visit the Amazon listing for this product.
CBT Updated: The 2018 version of the Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace: Shock and Burns (NFPA® 70E) is the version currently being tested on.
2018 NFPA 70E®: Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace® is another codebook you’ll need for Codes and Standards, which now has the second-highest approximate number of questions on the exam according to the new NCEES® 2018 Changes to the Power PE exam specifications. The majority of questions in this subject will most likely come from the National Electrical Code however it is probably safe to assume that you will see at least one to two questions on the PE exam that require having a physical copy of the NFPA® 70E Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace.
Similar to our recommendation for the NESC, first check to see if your workplace has the correct copy of this book to use for the exam, and if not, see if your employer will purchase an office copy that you can use. If neither is an option, then check your budget. Luckily, this book is much less expensive at about $65.
If you are going to purchase a copy of the NFPA® 70E be sure to purchase the 2018 edition for the 2019 – 2022 PE exams.
Our recommendation: Try to get your employer to purchase this book for you. If not, decide if an additional $65 is worth answering one or two questions correctly on the PE exam.
Click the image above to visit the Amazon listing for this product.
The PPI Power Reference Manual for the PE Exam, 3rd Edition (Hardcover) – Comprehensive Reference Manual for the NCEES PE Electrical Power Exam book tends to be a little controversial for the electrical power PE exam. The author obviously put in a tremendous amount of work compiling a very large reference book, so let’s talk about what this book is, and what it is not. First off, it is probably one of the largest reference books on the market for the PE exam. It is formatted very well, with units and definitions at the beginning of each chapter and in chapter examples and practice problems. The references it does contain, are very accurate, factual, and concise. The concepts are also explained in a very easy to understand manner that is straightforward.
However, it seems that the large size of the book actually takes away from its usability. This book seems to contain a tremendous amount of additional material and detail that frankly just isn’t needed. That being said, there are still plenty of people that do find it useful.
See if you can borrow a copy before deciding on purchasing since the price tag is quite steep.
Our recommendation: Only purchase if you know what you are buying.
Click each of the three images above to visit the NFPA® (no affiliation) listing for each book.
The following versions of the Hazardous Area Classification code books are the versions currently being tested on:
NFPA 497 – 2017
NFPA 499 – 2017
NFPA 30B – 2015
As mentioned previously, the Codes and Standards subject now has the second highest approximate number of 12 questions on the exam according to the new NCEES® 2018 Changes to the Power PE exam specifications. The majority of questions in this subject will most likely come from the National Electrical Code however it is probably safe to assume that you will see at least one to two questions on the PE exam that require having a physical copy of any of the three Hazardous Classification books.
Similar to our recommendation for the NESC® and the NFPA® 70E, first check to see if your workplace has the correct copy of these books to use for the exam, and if not, see if your employer will purchase an office copy set that you can use. If neither is an option, then check your budget. Each copy of this book is about $50, so you are looking at roughly $150 for the complete set. You will most likely not see a question from each book, so purchasing these books are a complete gamble. If you do decide to purchase these books, you are better off purchasing the other codebooks mentioned first in the following order:
1. NEC®
2. NESC®
3. NFPA® 70E
4. NFPA® 497, 499, 30B.
Our recommendation: Purchase this set if money is not an object, you have a large budget, or your employer will cover the cost.
Comment below and share your experience using different references for the Electrical Power PE Exam or comment on a different reference not listed in this article if you would like us to review it for you.
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