Guides
EEI test guides and utility career guides
41 guides to the EEI employment tests US electric utilities use to hire line workers, plant operators and maintenance crews — and to the jobs on the other side of them. Every guide lists its sources at the bottom.
We work from primary sources only: the EEI test brochures that employers such as LG&E-KU, PSEG and Southern Company publish themselves, utilities' own careers pages, union and apprenticeship committee pages, and federal wage data. No employer publishes a cut score or a pass rate for an EEI battery, and EEI's own CAST brochure says cutoffs are set to suit each company — so you will not find a “score you need” here, on this site or anywhere else that is telling you the truth.
The test batteries
What sits inside each EEI battery a utility might send you to — CAST, CAST-R, POSS, MASS, TECH and SO/PD II — taken from the brochures employers publish themselves.
The BCAB Test: EEI's Basic Competency Battery
BCAB is the core of EEI's SASS battery — Classifying, Spelling/Grammar, Basic Mathematics and Filing/Sorting, carrying test numbers 5206 and 5161 to 5164.
September 25, 2026 · 5 min read
EEI SASS Test: Administrative Roles at Utilities
The Support and Administrative Selection System covers clerk and admin jobs at electric utilities. What it is, how it relates to BCAB, and who uses it.
September 25, 2026 · 4 min read
EEI CSR Test: The Call Centre Job Simulation
The Customer Service Representative battery is a simulation, not a question paper. What EEI says it covers, which jobs use it, and why practice differs.
September 25, 2026 · 4 min read
MRAB: EEI's Meter Reader Aptitude Battery
The Meter Reader Aptitude Battery screens for meter reading and data recording roles. What EEI publishes, and why CAST may be the test you actually face.
September 25, 2026 · 3 min read
EEI Tests Explained: Which Battery Will You Sit?
The nine EEI employment test batteries, which utility jobs each one screens for, and how to work out from your job title which test you will be sent to.
September 16, 2026 · 5 min read
The EEI CAST Test: Sections, Timing and Scoring
What is on the EEI CAST test for line workers and skilled trades: four timed sections, 110 questions in 87 minutes, and how the 1-10 index score is used.
September 16, 2026 · 5 min read
CAST-R: What Changed From the Original CAST Test
CAST-R replaces the CAST's Mathematical Usage test with a 105-item Work Preferences Inventory. What that changes for the sitting, the timing and your prep.
September 16, 2026 · 5 min read
The EEI POSS Test for Power Plant Operators
The EEI POSS battery for plant operator jobs: four tests, two forms of 118 or 146 questions, Figural Reasoning, and an aptitude index from zero to 15.
September 16, 2026 · 4 min read
The EEI MASS Test for Plant Maintenance Jobs
The EEI MASS battery for plant mechanics, electricians and welders: 118 questions in 72 minutes of reading, mechanical, spatial and math tests.
September 16, 2026 · 4 min read
The EEI TECH Test: What Is Actually Published
The EEI TECH battery for utility technician jobs has four tests, but EEI publishes a question count and a time limit for only one. Here is what is known.
October 12, 2026 · 5 min read
SO/PD II: The EEI System Operator Test
The EEI SO/PD II battery for system operators and power dispatchers: analytic thinking, math, reading and a four-quadrant multitasking simulation.
September 16, 2026 · 4 min read
TECH vs CAST vs MASS: Which EEI Test Is Yours?
TECH, CAST and MASS share one test and differ in the rest. Compare the jobs, the sections and what EEI publishes for each, and work out which one you face.
October 12, 2026 · 4 min read
Section by section
The kinds of question that make up the batteries, what each one is actually testing, and how to get faster at it.
EEI TECH Practice Questions: One of Each Type, Worked
Original practice questions for all four EEI TECH tests, worked step by step: Graphic Problem Solving, Interpreting Diagrams, Mechanical Concepts, rules.
October 12, 2026 · 6 min read
Interpreting Diagrams Test Tips for the EEI TECH Battery
What the EEI TECH Interpreting Diagrams test is described as measuring, what it asks of you with symbols, codes and status, and a routine for reading fast.
October 12, 2026 · 4 min read
Reasoning from Rules Questions: How to Work a Rule Sheet
How to answer EEI TECH Reasoning from Rules questions: applying rules in order, boundary traps, and troubleshooting a logic network, with worked examples.
October 12, 2026 · 5 min read
Graphic Arithmetic: Reading Drawings Under a Clock
Graphic Arithmetic on the EEI CAST test is 16 questions in 30 minutes from two drawings. What it measures and how to stop losing marks to misreading.
September 16, 2026 · 4 min read
Mechanical Concepts: 44 Questions in 20 Minutes
The same Mechanical Concepts test appears in the CAST, CAST-R, POSS, MASS and TECH batteries: 44 questions in 20 minutes. What it covers, and how to prep.
September 16, 2026 · 4 min read
Reading for Comprehension on EEI Test Batteries
Reading appears in the CAST, POSS, MASS and SO/PD II batteries at 26 to 36 questions. What the passages are like, and the technique that saves most time.
September 16, 2026 · 4 min read
Mathematical Usage: Short Form and Long Form
EEI's Mathematical Usage test comes in a short form of 18 questions in 7 minutes and a long form of 46 in 17. What is in each and how to build the speed.
September 16, 2026 · 4 min read
The CAST-R Work Preferences Inventory Explained
CAST-R ends with a 105-item Work Preferences Inventory in 30 minutes. What it measures, why EEI provides no practice for it, and how to handle the format.
September 16, 2026 · 4 min read
Figural Reasoning on the EEI POSS Test
POSS ends with Figural Reasoning: 20 pattern questions in 10 minutes, across Picture Series, Picture Comparison and Picture Progression. How to get quick.
September 16, 2026 · 4 min read
Assembling Objects on the EEI MASS Test
MASS includes Assembling Objects: 20 spatial questions in 15 minutes. What the items look like, the elimination method that works, and how to practice it.
September 16, 2026 · 4 min read
Scores, rules and test day
How results are reported, what varies by employer — retakes, calculators, transferring a score — and how the CAST compares with the union apprenticeship test.
POSS Test Pass Rate: Why Nobody Publishes One
No utility publishes a POSS pass rate or a cut score, and EEI says thresholds are set locally. What that means, and what you can actually find out.
September 25, 2026 · 4 min read
How EEI Test Scores Work: Why There's No Pass Mark
CAST reports 1 to 10, POSS zero to 15 — an index, not a percentage. Why no utility publishes the level it hires at, and why you may only be told pass or fail.
September 16, 2026 · 5 min read
EEI Test Retake Rules: How Long You Must Wait
Retake waits for EEI tests are set by the employer, not by EEI, and range from 15 days to six months. What each utility publishes, and how to use the wait.
September 16, 2026 · 4 min read
Do EEI Test Scores Transfer Between Utilities?
EEI scores can sometimes be released from one utility to another with an authorization form. How the process works, who decides, and where it breaks down.
September 16, 2026 · 4 min read
Are Calculators Allowed on EEI Tests? Usually Not
Plan on no. EEI's brochures permit one calculator, on CAST-R Graphic Arithmetic. Everything else is the employer's call, and some ban electronics outright.
September 16, 2026 · 4 min read
EEI Test Day: What Actually Happens
How an EEI testing session runs: where you sit it, how long it takes, what you can bring, how the sections are timed and when you hear back.
September 16, 2026 · 4 min read
Free vs Paid EEI Test Practice: An Honest Look
There is free practice material for EEI tests, supplied through employers. What it covers, where it stops, and when paying for more is actually worth it.
September 16, 2026 · 5 min read
EEI CAST vs the IBEW Aptitude Test
The CAST and the IBEW apprenticeship aptitude test are different tests by different authors. Which one you sit, what is in each, and why they get mixed up.
September 16, 2026 · 4 min read
Utility careers
Apprenticeships, lineman school, plant operator roles, pay and the hiring process, checked against BLS data and the utilities' own careers pages.
Northwest Lineman College Cost, Campus by Campus
NLC's current total term cost runs from $23,106 in Florida to $26,552 in California. The campus table, what it excludes, and why there is no federal aid.
October 6, 2026 · 6 min read
Southeast Lineman Training Center Cost Breakdown
SLTC now lists $24,555 for its Electrical Lineworker Program: $17,920 tuition plus fees, tools and Class A CDL. The line-by-line cost, extras and housing.
October 6, 2026 · 5 min read
How Long Is Lineman School? 15 Weeks, Then Years
The two big programmes run 15 weeks. That is the short part — apprenticeship to journeyman takes years after it. What the timeline actually looks like.
September 25, 2026 · 3 min read
Nuclear Plant Operator: The Route In and the Test
POSS covers nuclear reactor operator roles alongside fossil and hydro. What the aptitude stage looks like, and why NRC licensing comes much later.
September 25, 2026 · 4 min read
System Operator and Power Dispatcher: The Route In
Control-centre roles are screened with EEI's SO/PD II battery — where some utilities have moved on. What the job involves and how hiring actually runs.
September 25, 2026 · 3 min read
Do Linemen Need a CDL? Class A Rules Explained
Most line jobs need a Class A CDL, but when you need it varies: before day one, or within 6 to 12 months of hire. Federal rules and real employer examples.
October 6, 2026 · 7 min read
How to Get Into a Lineworker Apprenticeship
The two routes into line work in the US, what each screens on, and where the aptitude test sits — plus what the job pays and how many openings there are.
September 16, 2026 · 4 min read
Lineman School Cost: Is It Worth the Money?
Published lineman school costs run from about $13,000 at a community college to roughly $26,000 at a private program. What you get, and if you need it.
September 16, 2026 · 4 min read
Power Plant Operator: The Job, Pay and Route In
Power plant operators earn a median of $102,040 and the occupation is shrinking. What the job involves, how hiring works, and where the POSS test fits.
September 16, 2026 · 4 min read
The Utility Hiring Process, Step by Step
How US electric utilities hire for craft and plant roles: application, aptitude battery, interview, physical and medical screening, and how long it takes.
September 16, 2026 · 4 min read
Lineworker Salary: What US Line Workers Earn
US line installers and repairers earned a median of $95,320 in May 2025, from $51,470 at the tenth percentile to $128,690 at the ninetieth. Plus by state.
September 16, 2026 · 4 min read
Reading about it is not practice
Every one of these sections is scored against a clock — 44 mechanical questions in 20 minutes, 18 math questions in 7. Speed comes from repetition, not from reading. Try a free demo of any section, or see what full access costs.