The tests
The Edison Electric Institute runs the employment testing consortium most US investor-owned utilities hire through. Which battery you sit depends on the job, and your invitation letter normally says. Everything below is taken from EEI's own published test brochures — the ones utilities host on their careers pages — so treat it as the published description rather than a promise about your particular administration.
Construction and Skilled Trades Selection System
The line worker and skilled trades battery: four timed sections, about 87 minutes of testing.
110 questions · 87 minutes of timed testing
Construction and Skilled Trades Selection System (revised)
The current version of CAST: the math section is replaced by a 105-item work preferences questionnaire.
197 questions · 110 minutes of timed testing
Plant Operator Selection System
The power plant operator battery: reading, mechanical, math and figural reasoning.
118 questions · 67 minutes of timed testing
Power Plant Maintenance Positions Selection System
The plant maintenance battery: reading, mechanical, assembling objects and math.
118 questions · 72 minutes of timed testing
| Battery | Sections | Questions | Timed | Reported as |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAST | Graphic Arithmetic, Mechanical Concepts, Reading for Comprehension, Mathematical Usage | 110 | 87 min | Index score 1–10 |
| CAST-R | Graphic Arithmetic, Mechanical Concepts, Reading for Comprehension, Work Preferences Inventory | 197 | 110 min | Index score 1–10 |
| POSS | Reading for Comprehension, Mechanical Concepts, Mathematical Usage, Figural Reasoning | 118 | 67 min | Aptitude index 0–15 |
| MASS | Reading for Comprehension, Mechanical Concepts, Assembling Objects, Mathematical Usage | 118 | 72 min | One index score, no published range |
No employer publishes a cut score or a pass rate for any of these batteries. EEI's CAST brochure says cutoff scores can be tailored to local company employment needs, and a federal appeals court judgment about another EEI battery describes the same arrangement: EEI supplies suggested cut scores and employers set their own. Treat any specific “score you need” figure elsewhere online as speculation.
Mechanical Concepts — 44 questions in 20 minutes — appears in all four batteries.