The University of Florida's electric power engineering program is changing educationally to better train its students. This has come about because electric power systems are being penetrated increasingly by new technologies, such as power electronics, for the purpose of improving their energy performance and control capabilities. At times the introduction of such new technologies in the power system may cause both the utility and its customers operational problems in terms of the quality of power being delivered and its actual energy usage. These problems are addressed in this paper by an examination of the key requirements needed in a lab to assess the power quality and energy performance of devices in the power system, in both a stand alone and systems context, and by computer simulations and physical testing. The power quality area is used as an example of how the lab is used in education.