Frequently Asked Questions

We are often asked the following questions. If you have other questions and / or would like more detailed answers and further discussion, please contact us.

What type of engineering company is Schneider Engineering Ltd. (SE)? Schneider Engineering Ltd. is an electrical engineering company that provides electric utilities with a wide variety of engineering and engineering-based support services that are designed to help our Clients succeed in today's challenging electric utility business environment. Our main service categories are: Engineering Design Services, System Planning, Operational Support, Regulatory and Regional Affairs, Power Supply/Rates and Project Management.

Why is working with SE a good idea for my utility? SE provides Clients with a variety of engineering, planning and field support services all designed to make your utility successful. We are a stable, cost-effective resource for our Clients. SE’s main service categories include distribution, transmission, substation and protection and control engineering as well as an array of planning services that provides utilities with financial and technical studies and reports that serve as a road map for utility managers. The bottom line—is that SE helps our Clients successfully engineer, manage and operate their respective utilities.

Why does utilizing an engineering consulting firm make sense for my utility? When utilities consider their direct in-house costs, overhead factors and infrastructure costs, outside providers of engineering, planning and field services are oftentimes very cost competitive. SE’s Clients benefit from our expertise, our technical tools, our focus and our quality professional staff. Clients avoid problems related to employee turnover and uneven workloads caused by changing economic conditions. SE is confident that we can provide services at a very cost-efficient level that will directly contribute to a Client’s fiscal and operational success.

What utility engineering services does Schneider Engineering provide? SE provides a full range of design, project management, construction management and inspection services for the following categories of engineering services:

What distribution engineering and field services does Schneider Engineering provide? Distribution line design for overhead and underground service

  • New line design, line upgrades, re-routes and voltage conversions
  • Underground residential subdivision and business park design
  • Inspection and evaluation of existing systems
  • Line staking services
  • Permitting
  • Easement procurement
  • Distribution inspection services
  • Preparation of Work Order
  • Inspection Guidelines
  • Inspection scheduling and coordination
  • Field inspections
  • Inspection reports
  • Coordination of construction items requiring correction
  • Certification of RUS 219 inventories
  • Annual certification of supplemental lender

What utility system planning services does Schneider Engineering provide? Schneider Engineering offers a full range of planning services designed to provide electric utilities with all types of strategic and tactical utility planning. SE's Planning Division provides the following planning products, all designed to help our Clients succeed with all types of system planning projects, including:

What operational support does Schneider Engineering provide? Schneider Engineering provides technical services that support system operations and special technical questions that arise in day-to-day operations. SE's Planning Engineers provide the information to help Clients better manage and operate their systems. Because of our knowledge of our Client's systems, SE is prepared to assist with analysis, studies and other technical assistance. SE has the resources and the tools to help our Clients solve their technical / operational questions.

What regulatory services does Schneider Engineering provide? The goal of Regulatory Compliance Services is to assist Clients in monitoring, tracking and complying with requirements of State and Federal mandates and to assist Clients in staying abreast of regional developments which have the potential to create either an impact or an opportunity for the Client. Deliverables include:

  • Client-specific studies – Arc-Flash / Sectionalizing and CCN Support
  • Standards and Procedures Development – FERC / NERC / ERCOT / TRE and Emergency Operations (PUCT)
  • Ongoing records management / maintenance
  • Audit support – FERC / NERC / ERCOT / TRE
  • Briefings – SPCC Briefings (EPA)
  • Trainings – NESC (PUCT / NESC / OSHA), Grounding (PUCT / NESC / OSHA)
  • Compliance Monitoring / Tracking – Socialized, cross-agency periodic compilations and bulletins
  • Annual Filings – Self-certifications (FERC / NERC / ERCOT / TRE) and Annual updates (PUCT / EPA)
  • Regional Affairs Monitoring and Tracking
  • Regulatory Monitoring: Federal – FERC, NERC, DOE, EPA; Texas – PUCT, ERCOT (Markets), ERCOT (RPG), TRE, CREZ

What financial services does Schneider Engineering provide? Our financial services are designed to assist Clients with financial planning, rates-pricing and special projects that require analytical evaluations / assessments. With our understanding of the engineering, planning and regulatory aspects of our Client's business, and our experience with financial planning, rate-pricing design and analysis, SE is uniquely positioned to ensure our Clients success in these types of projects.

What project management services does Schneider Engineering provide? SE's project management services are designed to partner with you as an extension of your staff to ensure that projects are completed on-time and on-budget. From project inception, our staff can develop a detailed project schedule and project budget to drive the engineering and construction effort.

How can my utility get more information about working with SE? Please contact us to discuss any of our services or any of your project opportunities. We would be glad to sit down and discuss how SE can help you with your business needs.