DG interconnection and protection engineering for the projects the grid can't say no to.
Tikure is a protection and controls consulting practice. We build the technical package utilities require to approve distributed generation interconnection — protection coordination, protective relay settings, one-line and three-line diagrams, and a submittal that arrives complete.
Interconnection and protection engineering, from first scope call to utility approval.
Six service lines, one advisor who already speaks the utility's language. Each covers advisory, calculation, documentation, and coordination work directly, with stamped studies sealed by our licensed Professional Engineer.
DG Interconnection Engineering
From rooftop solar to utility-scale PV, BESS, and generator projects, we build the technical package utilities require to approve interconnection.
- One-line and three-line diagram development
- Point of common coupling (POC) documentation
- Interconnection application & submittal prep
- Protective relay settings calculation and coordination
- Utility review comment response, application to approval
Protection & Coordination Studies
Studies that establish selectivity across the system, so a fault is cleared by the nearest device and the utility sees a defensible coordination basis.
- Short-circuit and fault current analysis
- Time-current curve (TCC) development
- Device coordination across utility and facility
- Coordination study report for utility submittal
- Review of existing schemes and retrofits
Protective Relay Settings
Calculated relay settings for interconnection and facility protection, documented in the format the utility reviewer expects to receive.
- Settings calculation for interconnection relays
- Voltage, frequency, and overcurrent element setting
- Directional and anti-islanding element coordination
- Settings sheets formatted for utility review
- Support through witness testing and commissioning
One-Line & Three-Line Diagrams
Interconnection drawings built to the conventions utility reviewers read every day, with the equipment schedule and title block they expect.
- Project one-line diagram development
- Three-line and relay AC/DC schematic development
- Equipment schedules and symbol legends
- Point of interconnection and metering detail
- Revision control through the utility review cycle
Data Center Power Protection
Protection and controls guidance for large-load data center builds, from the utility service entrance through the critical bus.
- Protection scheme review & coordination guidance
- SCADA / RTU architecture planning
- Utility large-load service strategy
- Documentation for energization readiness
- Coordination with your EPC or PE of record
Industrial Protection Compliance
Keeping industrial protection systems documented, coordinated, and aligned with the utility requirements that apply to the facility.
- Compliance documentation & utility liaison
- Protection scheme review
- Retrofit & upgrade planning support
- Panel & wiring diagram development
- Ongoing compliance monitoring support
Built for the teams standing between a project and a utility approval.
If your project has to satisfy a utility's technical interconnection requirements before it can energize, this is the work that gets it there.
Solar, BESS, and DG developers
You have a project in the interconnection queue and a utility asking for protection detail your civil and electrical design package doesn't carry. We produce the protection scheme, settings, and diagrams that close those comments.
EPC firms and electrical contractors
You can build it; the hold-up is the interconnection documentation and relay settings the utility wants before energization. We work alongside your team as the protection specialist rather than replacing your design lead.
Engineering firms needing protection depth
You own the project; you need protection coordination and relay settings on a specific scope without adding headcount. We work as a subconsultant with a defined deliverable list and a clear PE-seal boundary.
Commercial and industrial facilities
You are adding generation, adding load, or answering a utility compliance question about protection at your service entrance. We document what exists, identify the gap, and produce what the utility asked for.
A fixed sequence, so nothing gets submitted to the utility twice.
Most re-submittals happen because the protection package was assembled after the fact. This sequence puts the protection questions first, while they are still cheap to answer.
Scope call
We review your project, timeline, and utility of record to define what's needed and what, if anything, requires a PE stamp.
Site & document review
Existing one-lines, relay settings, and site conditions are reviewed against the applicable utility standard.
Settings & documentation
Relay settings calculation, coordination, and document preparation. Stamped studies are sealed by our licensed Professional Engineer.
Submittal & handoff
Utility submittal support, response to utility review comments, and a complete documentation package for your records.
One-line diagram conventions and utility submittal format.
Built to standard IEEE and ANSI one-line diagram symbol conventions and the documentation format used in utility interconnection submittals. Project-specific one-lines, equipment schedules, and relay settings are delivered as PDF documentation upon engagement. See one-line and three-line diagram development for the full drawing scope.
One-Line Diagram: DG Point of Common Coupling
POC documentation convention for DG interconnection: recloser (52R), step-up transformer, and directional power / overcurrent relay (32/67), per typical interconnection application format.
One-Line Diagram: Large-Load Interconnection Service
One-line convention for a data center service entrance: main breaker (52), differential / bus relay (87), and switchgear bus configuration, per typical utility submittal format.
Ten years in the power industry, before it was a business.
Our founder started Tikure after a decade working in the power industry, with hands-on experience in system protection, relay coordination, and SCADA integration. That background is what Tikure's consulting practice is built on: protection coordination and utility liaison work from someone who's done it from the utility and industrial side, not just read about it.
Protective relay settings are provided directly. Deliverables that require a Professional Engineer's stamp — full protection studies and interconnection studies submitted as engineering record — are sealed by our licensed Professional Engineer, so clients get direct technical expertise and properly stamped documentation in one place.
Built for teams who need this done right the first time.
Direct technical experience
A decade in power system protection, relay coordination, and SCADA, brought directly into every engagement, not routed through a generalist.
Clear scope boundaries
We tell you upfront what's advisory, what's a calculated deliverable, and what carries a PE seal.
Utility-fluent
Familiar with utility interconnection requirements and submittal expectations across multiple U.S. jurisdictions.
Built for repeat work
Ongoing compliance and protection support across a portfolio, not just one-off projects.
Large-load ready
Set up for data centers and other large-load interconnections, the fastest-growing category on the U.S. grid.
Questions developers and EPCs ask us first.
What is DG interconnection engineering?
DG interconnection engineering is the technical work required to connect a distributed generation source — solar, battery energy storage, a generator, or a combined system — to a utility distribution or transmission system. It covers the protection scheme at the point of common coupling, the protective relay settings that let the utility trust that scheme, the one-line and three-line diagrams that document it, and the interconnection application package the utility reviews before granting permission to operate.
Tikure provides that engineering as a standalone service. See DG interconnection engineering for the full scope.
Who typically hires Tikure?
Solar and BESS developers, renewable energy and DG project developers, EPC firms, electrical contractors, engineering firms that need protection depth on a specific project, and commercial and industrial facility owners going through a utility interconnection or compliance review. The common thread is a project that has to satisfy a utility's technical interconnection requirements and needs someone who works in that language every day.
Do you provide stamped, PE-sealed deliverables?
Yes. Protective relay settings are calculated and provided directly. Deliverables that must be submitted as engineering record — full protection studies and interconnection studies — are sealed by our licensed Professional Engineer. On the first scope call we tell you which parts of your scope are advisory and which carry a PE seal, so there is no ambiguity about what the utility will receive.
Do you work nationwide?
Yes. Tikure supports utility interconnection and protection projects across the United States, with capacity for select international engagements. Utility technical interconnection requirements differ by jurisdiction and by utility, so early in every engagement we identify the utility of record and work to that specific standard rather than a generic template.
At what point in a project should we bring you in?
Earlier is cheaper. The most common expensive mistake is designing the protection scheme after equipment has been ordered, or submitting an interconnection application with diagrams that do not show what the utility's reviewer needs to see. Bringing protection engineering in during preliminary design — before the application goes in — usually avoids a re-submittal cycle. That said, we regularly join projects mid-review to respond to utility comments on an application already in queue.
What does a protection coordination study include?
A coordination study establishes that protective devices operate selectively: the device closest to a fault clears it first, and upstream devices hold. It works from the system one-line and equipment data through fault current calculations, time-current curve development, device settings, and a written report documenting the coordination basis. See protection and coordination studies.
Tell us about the project. We'll tell you what it needs.
Whether it's a DG interconnection application, a data center service request, or a protection compliance question, start with a short scope call.