Your Trusted Partner in Electrical Engineering and Power Systems
At Keentel Engineering, we deliver electrical power engineering services built on 30 years of experience and a commitment to excellence. Our clients include utilities, developers, EPCs, and public agencies across the U.S.
Unlike firms that sacrifice technical depth to chase billable hours, we prioritize precision, compliance, and value engineering. From transmission services and relay modeling to winterization and SCADA planning, we never compromise on quality.
At Keentel Engineering, we take pride in being the go-to electrical power engineering firm for power and utility system planning, substation design, protection, control, and power system analysis. The following attributes distinguish our team in utility-grade substation engineering and compliance-driven project delivery.
With three decades of hands-on project delivery, we bring unmatched expertise in substation layout design, substation electrical and civil engineering, relay protection, and grid-tie solutions. Our experience includes projects in complex terrain, urban retrofit environments, and utility-scale renewable integrations.
Our engineering process applies AutoCAD 3D, BIM modeling, and system-level substation design practices to ensure accurate planning, reduced errors, and efficient coordination across all project stakeholders.
Our workflow includes 3D substation design, enabling clash-free coordination between structural, electrical, and civil disciplines.
From grounding grid studies to relay protection settings, we engineer every detail to improve system reliability, performance, and operational safety. Our rigorous QA/QC process ensures compliance with IEEE, NFPA, and ISO/TSO interconnection standards.
Among leading electrical substation design companies, Keentel Engineering stands out for 30+ years of proven high-voltage and utility-grade project delivery.
First name, email and what you're interested in are all we need to get moving. Everything else, including drawings or an RFP, is optional.
NERC publishes a Reliability Standard Audit Worksheet (RSAW) for Reliability Standards. Each RSAW sets out, requirement by requirement, the evidence an auditor may request and the compliance assessment approach the auditor will use to evaluate it, along with space for the registered entity to describe how it complies and where its evidence can be found. RSAWs are updated as standards are revised, so the version you use must match the standard version in effect for your audit period.
Regional Entities commonly ask registered entities to complete RSAWs as part of a compliance audit or spot check. Even when not requested, an RSAW is the best available guide to how your compliance will be assessed — which makes it an excellent template for organizing evidence year-round.
An RSAW does not change what a requirement says. The standard itself is the obligation; the RSAW explains how compliance with it is typically tested. Your narrative must address the requirement language fully, not just the RSAW prompts.
A concise, factual explanation of how the entity met each requirement and each part of it during the audit period, for every applicable facility.
Each file listed with its name, revision or date, and the specific pages or sections relevant to the requirement.
Evidence named consistently, bookmarked and cross-referenced so each statement in the narrative points to a specific page.
Which facilities and functions the requirement applies to, with the basis for any “not applicable” determination.
Evidence that demonstrates compliance throughout the audit period, not just at a single point in time.
A brief description of the process and internal controls that ensure compliance is sustained.
We identify the standard versions effective during the audit period, the applicable facilities and the matching RSAW versions.
Each requirement and part is mapped to the evidence that demonstrates it and to the person who owns that evidence.
Our engineers review settings, ratings, test data, studies and models for accuracy and consistency — before an auditor does.
We draft narratives that address the full requirement language, reference specific evidence pages and avoid unsupported statements.
Evidence files are named, bookmarked and cross-referenced so a reviewer can move directly from narrative to proof.
A final review checks narrative-to-evidence consistency, then the package is prepared for Align and SEL submission.
The examples below summarize the kind of engineering evidence commonly used to demonstrate compliance. Always write to the exact standard version and requirement language in effect for your audit period.
| Standard / requirement | What the requirement addresses | Typical engineering evidence |
|---|---|---|
| PRC-005 R3 | Maintaining Protection System, Automatic Reclosing and Sudden Pressure Relaying components in a time-based program within the standard’s maximum intervals and minimum activities | Component inventory by type and facility; maintenance program documents; relay, CT/PT, communications, DC supply and battery test records with dates; interval compliance report |
| FAC-008 R6 | Having Facility Ratings for solely and jointly owned Facilities that are consistent with the associated Facility Ratings methodology or documentation | Ratings methodology; equipment-level ratings database; series-element calculations identifying the most limiting element; source nameplate and manufacturer data |
| PRC-019 R1 | Coordinating voltage regulating controls, limit functions, equipment capabilities and Protection System settings for generating resources | Coordination study with capability curves; excitation limiter settings; volts-per-hertz, over- and under-excitation and loss-of-field settings; plots demonstrating coordination; study completion date |
| MOD-025 R1 / R2 | Verifying and providing real power (R1) and reactive power (R2) capability to the Transmission Planner | Verification test reports or qualifying operating data per the standard’s attachment; test conditions and dates; transmittal records to the Transmission Planner |
| PRC-024 R1 | Setting generator frequency protective relaying so the unit does not trip within the defined no-trip zone, except as permitted | Frequency protective settings for each applicable relay or function; plots against the standard’s frequency curves; documentation of any permitted exceptions |
| EOP-012 | Cold weather preparedness for generating units, including freeze protection and a cold weather preparedness plan | Cold weather preparedness plan; unit cold weather data; freeze protection measure documentation; training records; any required corrective action plans |
| TPL-001 | Performing an annual Planning Assessment of the system and developing Corrective Action Plans where performance requirements are not met | Planning Assessment report; study cases and assumptions; contingency lists; results; Corrective Action Plans and their distribution |
| PRC-004 | Identifying, investigating and correcting Protection System Misoperations | Operation reviews; misoperation determinations; cause analyses; Corrective Action Plans and completion evidence |
Our standard-specific pages — for example PRC-005, PRC-019, PRC-024, MOD-025, FAC-008 and EOP-012 — describe the engineering behind each.
| Do | Don’t |
|---|---|
| Address every part of the requirement language, in order | Answer only the RSAW prompt and skip part of the requirement |
| State facts: what was done, when, for which facilities | Use aspirational language such as “we strive to” or “it is our practice to” |
| Reference specific evidence files, pages and sections | Say “see attached” and leave the reviewer to search |
| Cover the full audit period and every applicable facility | Describe only the current state or a single example |
| Explain “not applicable” determinations with a basis | Leave requirements blank or unexplained |
| Keep terminology consistent with procedures and the NERC Glossary | Use internal jargon or terms that differ from your own procedures |
| Match what your SMEs will say in interviews | Write a narrative that your staff will contradict when asked |
| Keep it concise — let the evidence do the proving | Paste entire procedures into the narrative |
An auditor reviewing dozens of requirements should never have to search a 400-page PDF for the single test record that proves a maintenance interval. Evidence that is hard to find is evidence that generates follow-up requests.
Align is the ERO Enterprise’s system for CMEP activities, and the Secure Evidence Locker (SEL) is the secure environment used to submit evidence for review. Your Regional Entity will tell you how it expects evidence to be submitted for each engagement.
We prepare evidence packages so they are ready to upload: organized by standard and requirement, indexed and consistently named. We also help your team keep a clear record of what was submitted, when, and in response to which request — a record that matters when follow-up questions arrive or when the same requirement is tested again.
| Problem | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Using an outdated RSAW or standard version | The requirement language may have changed; narratives written to the wrong version can miss obligations. |
| Evidence dated outside the audit period | Current documents alone may not prove compliance throughout the period under review. |
| Technically inconsistent evidence | A rating that differs between the database and the calculation, or a setting that differs from the study, invites deeper review. |
| Missing third-party evidence | Settings, tests and models held by EPCs, OEMs or O&M contractors must be recovered and retained by the registered entity. |
| Narratives written by someone who doesn’t know the work | Auditors test narratives in interviews; inaccurate descriptions create credibility problems. |
| No year-round maintenance | Rebuilding RSAWs from scratch for every audit wastes time and increases errors. |
We understand the settings, ratings, tests and models behind each requirement — and can fix them when they are not right.
Former NERC audit-team leadership and SMEs shape how we write narratives and organize evidence.
Evidence packages prepared for MRO, NPCC, ReliabilityFirst, SERC, Texas RE and WECC engagements.
We build RSAW packages that can be maintained year-round, on-site or remotely, as part of your program.
Send us your scope and existing RSAWs. Keentel will write the narratives, review the technical evidence and deliver indexed packages ready for Align and the Secure Evidence Locker.
Serving utilities, EPCs, developers, and infrastructure organizations supporting critical power systems nationwide.
