The purpose of electric systems commissioning is to increase the reliability of electrical power systems after installation by identifying problems and providing a set of baseline values for comparison with subsequent routine tests. A procedure should be developed to include a planned approach (road map) of what should be done in order to verify the proper system installation. This procedure is the commissioning plan. Specific areas addressed in a commissioning plan include the verification of the installation of all equipment/components, interface connections between equipment and individual systems, and interconnection drawings. The development of this test plan specific to each system and/or component is key to the usefulness of any maintenance program.

The plan consists of the schedule of when acceptance and routine tests should be performed, test forms to be used to record the outcome of the tests which are retained for comparison with previous and subsequent tests, and a listing of the required test devices. Since the results of the commissioning tests become baseline test values to compare with later tests and the results of the routine maintenance tests are compiled to identify any downward trend in performance, it is vital to the maintenance program to have accurate and complete records. To perform the testing, the plan lists all required tests in order of performance and gives a schedule for each test. The work items and schedule depend on many items including the importance and cost of the equipment, consequences of failure, age of equipment, past and future frequency of service, hours of operation, future maintenance availability, environmental conditions, and safety requirements.