Energization Marshal - Data Center Construction
KALCON · Columbus, Ohio, United States
The Energization Marshal serves as KALCON’s Owner’s Representative supporting the client through energization planning, readiness reviews, stakeholder coordination, and documentation for the Columbus, Ohio data center project. The role maintains visibility of prerequisites, identifies unresolved risks, and provides readiness recommendations to the client. Electrical execution, technical approvals, switching authority, and contractor safety responsibilities remain with the parties designated in the project’s approved responsibility matrix and electrical safety procedures.
Scope and Authority
KALCON provides professional coordination and advisory services with the ordinary skill and care of similarly situated owner’s-rep professionals. The role does not guarantee safety, code compliance, system performance, or milestone achievement. Reviews and observations do not relieve other project participants of their contractual or legal responsibilities.
Before energization activities begin, coordinate a written responsibility matrix accepted by the client and the responsible parties. Identify the technical approvers, switching authority for each system, utility interface, permit issuer, LOTO administrators, safety leads, custody handoffs, and restart authority. Distinguish the client owner release from technical release and switching authorization. KALCON signatures acknowledge review or coordination status only and do not certify safe-to-energize conditions.
This assignment excludes electrical design or engineering certification, hands-on testing, operation of electrical equipment, switching, establishment or verification of an electrically safe work condition, and administration of other employers’ LOTO or electrical safety programs. Contractor means, methods, and supervision remain with the responsible contractors. Each employer, including KALCON, retains its applicable employee safety duties. Personnel must follow site access and training requirements and promptly report observed hazards.
Duties are subject to KALCON’s executed agreement with the client; this JD&R does not amend that agreement. Requests for additional electrical authority or services must be escalated to KALCON leadership for written scope, competency, contractual, and insurance review before performance.
Minimum Qualifications
- 7–10+ years of experience in electrical construction, commissioning, or electrical operations, with a focus on mission-critical, data center, semiconductor, or other critical facility projects
- Demonstrated experience coordinating or overseeing energization of medium-voltage and low-voltage electrical systems, including switchgear, transformers, UPS systems, generators, and busway or power distribution equipment
- Strong working knowledge of NFPA 70E, NFPA 70 (NEC), NETA acceptance testing, and lockout/tagout (LOTO) and electrical safe work practices
- Experience with energization readiness reviews, pre-energization inspections, and Levels 1–5 commissioning processes
- Ability to read and interpret electrical one-line diagrams, protection and coordination studies, arc flash studies, and switching procedures
- Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering or construction management, or equivalent electrical trade, utility, or switching experience; relevant electrical safety training preferred. A prior qualified-person designation does not authorize electrical work or switching under this assignment.
- Strong written and oral communication skills to interface with senior management, utilities, contractors, and vendors
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, particularly Excel and PowerPoint; familiarity with permit-to-work, commissioning, or tracking platforms preferred
Duties and Responsibilities
Energization Planning and Strategy
- Coordinate development and maintenance of the owner’s integrated energization schedule and readiness plan for each building and campus phase, using technical procedures and execution sequences prepared by the responsible electrical parties
- Coordinate energization milestones with construction completion, commissioning schedules, and program delivery dates, subject to technical prerequisites and required approvals
- Coordinate readiness criteria and checklists with the client, the electrical contractor, engineer of record, commissioning agent, and utility, as applicable; obtain technical input and acceptance from the responsible parties
- Coordinate with the serving utility on service energization, interconnection, metering, and backfeed requirements; track relay settings and other technical submissions prepared and approved by the responsible electrical professionals
- Identify energization risks, including incomplete scopes, long lead equipment, utility dependencies, and testing gaps; track mitigation actions assigned to the responsible parties
Energization Readiness Review
- Review submitted evidence of installation completion, torque and insulation-resistance testing, NETA acceptance testing where specified, relay settings and testing, grounding verification, and closure of energization-critical punchlist items; record missing or inconsistent information for resolution by the responsible parties
- Review pre-energization inspection records, test reports, current one-lines, arc flash studies, and labeling records for completeness and documented technical acceptance; refer technical discrepancies to the engineer of record or other responsible reviewer
- Track completion and acceptance by the responsible parties of commissioning prerequisites defined for the specific energization event. Commissioning level terminology and required records shall follow the project commissioning plan.
- Track documented approvals of protection settings, short-circuit and coordination studies, and applicable authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) and utility releases; do not independently approve engineering calculations or settings
- Participate in field walkdowns with contractors and commissioning teams from authorized locations; document observable deficiencies and obtain readiness confirmations from the responsible qualified personnel. Walkdowns do not constitute exhaustive inspections or certification that equipment is safe to energize.
Energization Event Coordination
- Serve as the primary owner’s-rep coordination contact for planned energization, de-energization, and switching events; consolidate readiness recommendations and track approvals. Final technical release and direction of switching remain with the designated electrical authority and utility within their respective jurisdictions.
- Coordinate submission and review of energization procedures, switching orders, and methods of procedure (MOPs) prepared and technically approved by the responsible electrical contractor, utility, operations organization, engineer, or vendor, as applicable; review interfaces, schedule, and documentation without approving technical adequacy or directing execution
- Track permits and documented coordination of LOTO and energized-area boundaries. Responsible employers and their designated authorized personnel administer permits, establish and verify isolations, apply and remove locks and tags, and establish electrical safe work conditions under applicable procedures.
- Coordinate owner participation in pre-job briefings led by the responsible electrical authority; attend agreed energization events from authorized locations in accordance with the approved safety plan and assigned access permissions
- Coordinate communication of access restrictions and concurrent construction interfaces; report observed deficiencies to the responsible contractor or operations authority, which establishes and maintains barriers, access controls, and work-area protection
- Maintain owner-facing energization logs and status tracking using confirmations from the responsible electrical parties, with sources, timestamps, and discrepancies recorded. These re