CUOCP® is administered by the North American Council of Utility Professionals (NACUP).

Why CUOCP® Exists

The Certified Utility Operations & Capital Professional (CUOCP®) credential was established to address a long-standing gap in the utility sector: the absence of a neutral, exam-based professional benchmark for applied leadership across utility operations and capital programs.

Utility organizations operate in highly regulated, safety-critical environments where leadership decisions directly affect infrastructure reliability, public safety, workforce accountability, and community trust. Yet advancement in these roles has traditionally relied on job titles, tenure, or employer-specific training rather than an independent, portable standard of professional competence.

CUOCP® exists to provide that standard.

The Gap CUOCP® Closes

Most utility leaders develop through experience alone. While experience is essential, it is not standardized.

CUOCP® addresses three long-standing gaps:

  1. No shared leadership benchmark across utilities or disciplines

  2. Inconsistent expectations tied to titles rather than responsibility

  3. No independent assessment of leadership judgment

CUOCP® does not replace experience — it validates the judgment experience is meant to produce.

Focused on Applied Judgment — Supported by High-Quality Training

CUOCP® is designed to evaluate real-world professional judgment, not course completion alone. While NACUP now provides robust, practitioner-developed training modules to help candidates prepare,

the credential itself is earned through demonstrated performance on an independent, proctored examination.

A Professional Signal for a Changing Industry

As utilities face increasing scrutiny, infrastructure investment, workforce transitions, and public accountability, CUOCP® provides a clear, consistent way for professionals to demonstrate readiness for leadership roles that carry elevated responsibility and risk.

CUOCP® does not replace education, experience, or employer training.
It complements them by offering an independent measure of professional competence aligned with the realities of modern utility operations and capital leadership.