If your arc flash study and labels are out of date, people work with the wrong PPE on the wrong assumptions. An arc flash can cause serious injury, destroy switchgear and trigger the very outage the whole site was designed to prevent. That risk grows with every change made without a study update.
USP&E Helps You Keep Arc Flash Studies Current
We know arc flash studies are often done once at handover and then left in a drawer while the system keeps growing. USP&E has delivered 150+ power projects in 45+ countries, with 25,000 MW contracted since 2002, and our 400+ engineers and project managers keep short-circuit, coordination and arc flash studies aligned with mission-critical power systems that combine gas turbines, gensets, UPS and switchgear. Our systems are ISO 9001 and ISO 45001 certified, and every deal runs under FCPA and OFAC controls. USP&E is a full-service EPC and O&M contractor, not a broker.
An accurate study protects people and uptime together. It tells your electricians what they face, guides protection settings and shows where design changes can lower the energy at the most dangerous boards.
Start From Real, Current Data
Your study is only as good as its data. Collect current one-line diagrams, cable lengths and sizes, transformer ratings and impedances, generator and turbine data, UPS details and every protection setting as it is actually applied, not as it was designed.
Include every source that can feed a fault. Utility supply, gas turbine generators, gensets and in some cases large motors all contribute fault current. Different operating modes, such as utility only, turbines islanded or both in parallel, can give very different results.
Walk your site to confirm the data. Settings get changed during commissioning or after trips, and cables get replaced. Your qualified engineer should study the system that exists today.
Run the Studies Together and Label Every Board
Have a qualified engineer run the short-circuit, protection coordination and arc flash studies as one package, using the recognised method that applies in your jurisdiction. The three are linked: protection settings decide clearing times, and clearing times drive incident energy.
Label every board and panel you have with the study results and the PPE required to work on it. Labels must match the current study, so old labels come off when new ones go on.
Use the study to set safe work rules. Some of your boards may be too dangerous to work on energised at all, and your procedures should say so clearly, with isolation and verification steps that crews follow every time.
Reduce the Energy and Keep the Study Current
Look for ways to reduce the incident energy your crews face without losing selectivity: maintenance mode switches that speed up tripping while people work, arc flash relays, faster protection or remote racking and switching so people stand further away.
Re-run the study whenever the system changes: a new turbine or genset, a transformer change, new protection settings or a change in utility fault level. Build the update into your change control so no modification goes live without it, and train staff on the new labels and rules.
Growing campuses change fastest. Sites adding AI gas turbines, hyperscale generators and gas turbines for compute in phases need a study update at each step, and a hyperscale EPC/O&M team brings the New USP&E FX-45 45MW Modular Gas Turbine for the Hyperscale Data Center sector in the USA onto the bus only after the study and labels are refreshed, the same rule used for any remanufactured GE Frame 6B, used/new gas turbines or natural gas engines/stations added as bridge power.
Global Offices Behind Your Mission-Critical Power Programme
Your team wants answers in its own time zone. USP&E’s offices in Colorado Springs (1755 Telstar Dr, Suite 300) and Knoxville (800 S Gay St, Suite 700) lead your mission-critical fuel gas specification conversations in the US, from the first data request to the site visit, so questions about fuel, interconnection and delivery are answered by people who can be on site.
The wider network carries the heavy lifting for fuel gas conditioning, Frame 6B units and gas turbine generators: London (162-168 Regent Street) for structuring and finance, Johannesburg (22 Kildoon Rd, Bryanston) for engineering and project controls, Cape Town (31 Brickfield Road, Woodstock) for design and commissioning support, and Wuxi, China (No. 1, Ningzhou Road, Wuxi) for China supply chain and manufacturing.
For arc flash studies, Colorado Springs and Knoxville electrical engineers can collect settings and nameplate data on site with your facilities team and walk every board before labels are issued. Regions served: USA | AFRICA | UK | UAE | CHINA. USP&E’s reach covers 150+ power projects in 45+ countries and 25,000 MW contracted since 2002, and the company is ISO 9001 and ISO 45001 certified.
USP&E Track Record for Mission-Critical Power
You want proof that USP&E has delivered gas turbine and critical power where safety and uptime both matter. These projects show that record.
- USP&E has refurbished seven GE Frame 6B gas turbines to zero hours in-house for major US hyperscale data-centre developers.
- NEOM, Saudi Arabia: USP&E supplied three zero-hour Siemens SGT-400 gas turbines as the single technical and commercial interface, and the client reported savings of over $10 million. Read the case study.
- Kinross Gold, Tasiast, Mauritania: USP&E supplied and installed a Caterpillar backup power station of low-hour Cat 3516B gensets with new switchgear, on time and on budget. Read the case study.
HowTo: Keep Arc Flash Studies Current in GT Power
Your 3-step plan: 1. Share one-lines, protection settings and equipment data under NDA. 2. Receive updated studies, labels and safe work recommendations. 3. Apply the changes, then re-study after every modification under accountable O&M.
- Collect up-to-date one-line diagrams, protection settings and equipment data for every source and board.
- Have a qualified engineer run the short-circuit, coordination and arc flash studies together.
- Label every board with the study results and the PPE required to work on it.
- Look for settings or maintenance switches that reduce incident energy without hurting selectivity.
- Re-run the study when gas turbine generators, transformers or protection settings change.
- Train staff on the labels, PPE and safe work rules, and record that training.
Resources and live pathway
Data centres · EPC · O&M · About USP&E · Contact.
FAQ: Mission-Critical Arc Flash Study GT
Why must arc flash studies be updated after changes?
USP&E updates studies because new turbines, gensets, transformers or protection settings change fault current and clearing times at every board. Your old labels may then understate the danger, and your study no longer matches the system. Electricians could be wearing the wrong PPE without knowing it.
What data does an arc flash study need?
USP&E collects current one-lines, cable data, transformer impedances, generator and turbine data, UPS details and protection settings as actually applied. You should confirm the data on site, because settings and cables often change after commissioning without the drawings being updated.
Do gas turbines change arc flash results?
USP&E finds that adding gas turbine generators often raises available fault current, especially when they run in parallel with the utility. Your study should cover each operating mode, because islanded and parallel operation can give very different incident energy at the same board.
How can incident energy be reduced?
USP&E looks at maintenance mode switches, arc flash relays, faster protection and remote racking or switching. Your engineer must check that each change keeps protection selective. The aim is lower energy where people work without causing nuisance trips on the critical load.
Where are USP&E’s offices that support mission-critical power?
USP&E leads mission-critical electrical work from Colorado Springs and Knoxville, near US campus and facility teams. London handles contracts and finance, Johannesburg and Cape Town add EPC and O&M depth, and Wuxi supports China manufacturing. Every office uses your one project file.
Has USP&E delivered mission-critical power before?
USP&E has refurbished seven GE Frame 6B gas turbines to zero hours in-house for major US hyperscale data-centre developers. Public case studies also cover NEOM, where USP&E supplied zero-hour gas turbines as the single technical and commercial interface. You can read each case study yourself.
Is USP&E a broker for critical power systems?
USP&E is not a broker. USP&E engineers, supplies, builds and operates power plants with its own people, so the engineers who update your studies also apply the protection changes and stay accountable to you for safe work and reliable power.
How fast can USP&E respond on an arc flash review?
USP&E can start reviewing your one-lines, protection settings and equipment data as soon as you share them under NDA. Engineers flag missing data and boards with the highest energy first, then plan site verification, with timing set by data quality.
Keep Your People Safe as Your Power System Grows
Get arc flash studies right and every electrician knows the danger and the protection before a door opens. Get them wrong and the first sign may be an injury and a destroyed board. USP&E will help you study, label and update with confidence.
Request a fast quote for your mission-critical fuel gas specification on the USP&E contact page, call +27 10 822 2324 or email info@uspeglobal.com. Want to see what is available today? Search the USP&E inventory.
Powering Possibility. Built for the Frontier.