Substation
Ballroom C/D
1:00 p.m. – Life Extension of Indoor Metal-Clad Switchgear
Speaker: Neil Stiller, Rochester Public Utilities
Life extension of existing distribution indoor metal-clad switchgear is an important strategy for utilities and industrial facilities. Switchgear manufacturing supply chain issues, sparse availability of obsolete parts, declining circuit breaker performance, deteriorating insulation, upgrading instrumentation, and protection devices are all factors in power distribution equipment asset management. One solution to extend the life of existing switchgear is to replace major legacy components with modern equivalents. Rochester Public Utilities has completed an extensive project including circuit breaker retrofit of three buses of GE MagnaBlast switchgear and complete replacement of all legacy protective relaying and controls for eleven indoor metal-clad switchgear buses of various manufacturers and vintages. This presentation discusses decision making, design, and implementation for the project.
1:45 – Understanding the Collection Volume Method to Economically Protect Substations from Lightning Strikes
Speaker: Zach Zellhart, nVent ERICO
The Collection Volume Method (CVM) is a physically based method that takes into account a site's specific geometry and electromagnetic properties to efficiently place air terminals for lightning protection. Using CVM along with controlled triggering air terminals, potentially dangerous static masts and wires can be removed from existing and future substation designs.
3:00 – Detection of Quickly Evolving Bushing Breakdown to Avoid Failure
Speaker: John Eastman, ZTZ Services International
This article reviews the most important defects in transformer bushings and their causes. Online monitoring for real-time discovery of the defects is described along with two methods of manual verification. Three field examples where serious failures were avoided by these methods are shown, along with forensic evidence.
3:45 – Effects of Fault Current at Data Center Customer Interconnect Facilities
Speaker: Tony Arnold, Burns & McDonnell
This presentation will discuss topics and best practices that pertain to grounding systems and fault currents that should be considered for projects that require colocation of high voltage substation interconnection equipment and data center facilities.
Battery Energy Storage
(Ballroom A/B)
1:00 p.m. – Grid Forming Battery Specification for Widespread Regional Adoption
Speaker: Andrew Isaacs, Electranix Corporation
Electranix has been instrumental in the drive toward GFM adoption both in industry education and in the creation of EMT test specifications. Andrew will survey some of the recent efforts to specify GFM capability in the United States and internationally, with a focus on performance and functional specification testing using state-of-the-art EMT modeling tools. Key examples of GFM BESS performance will be presented, along with a discussion of where the technology is headed in the coming years.
1:45 – BESS Augmentation Strategy
Speaker: Chris Ruckman, Josh Tucker, Burns & McDonnell
When sizing a battery energy storage system (BESS), there are many things to consider: choosing technologies, accounting for losses, battery degradation, amount of overbuild, and augmentation strategy. This presentation will cover the basics for sizing a BESS, advantages and disadvantages of AC vs DC augmentation, and how to account for augmentation in the initial buildout to more easily integrate new batteries and equipment when you augment.
3:00 – Enhancing Battery Dispatch with Visual Market Analysis Tools
Speaker: Steve Peichel, Consulting Engineers Group
Join us for an in-depth presentation on battery energy storage systems (BESS) using dynamic visuals to illuminate real market data. We’ll analyze yearly trends in seasonal, cycling, and operational aspects, then focus on hourly changes to highlight profitability and missed opportunities. Featuring insights from CAISO and ERCOT, this session will enhance your understanding of BESS intricacies.
3:45 – State-of-the-Art Battery Management for the Utility of the Future
Speaker: Eric Sortomme, Aspentech
Battery energy storage systems have long been touted as a solution to many issues on both transmission and distribution grids. Lately, battery technology has reached a point of maturity where battery systems are regularly being deployed. Intelligent grid management software, such as DERMS or GMS, can expand the benefits of these systems by coordinating their use across other grid assets, enabling optimization across multiple simultaneous use cases. This presentation will present an overview of some of the major battery use cases, including system and local peak shaving, power quality improvements, renewable balancing and integration, and how these can be enhanced using a DERMS. Several customer battery and DERMS deployment case studies will also be discussed with best practices and lessons learned.
Safety & Security
Meeting Rooms 1–3
1:00 p.m. – AC Induction on Parallel 345 kV Transmission Lines
Speakers: Ben Gallay, Xcel Energy; Kiva Martz, POWER Engineers
This study reviews the effects of AC induction on parallel or double circuit 345kV transmission lines with respect to construction and maintenance activities. Transmission network congestion can cause operational and economic need for new construction and maintenance to be performed adjacent to existing energized 345kV transmission lines. Having experienced this need, Xcel Energy contracted POWER Engineers to calculate AC induction effects under numerous system configurations and develop work plans to ensure safe installation and maintenance practices for adding a second 345kV parallel circuit to an existing 345kV line section without system outages.
1:45 – ATC’s Preparations for Milwaukee Hosting the Republican National Convention
Speakers: Garrett Nyman, Scott Quenneville, American Transmission Company
This session discusses the approach ATC used to mitigate risk when Milwaukee hosted Presidential Nomination Conventions in 2020 and 2024. Topics include the 2020 plans that a pandemic and social unrest turned upside down and the yearlong process to perform proactive maintenance, provide threat intelligence, training, and coordination with public and private partners to ensure a “no one knew the difference” event.
3:00 – Analysis of Live Work Accidents in the Electric Utility Industry – A Review of Generation, Transmission, and Distribution Practices
Speaker: Eduardo Ramirez Bettoni, Powell
The presentation addresses issues and shortcomings of electrical safety programs found in decades of operations in the electric utility industry. The authors performed an in-depth review of the OSHA accident database and other company-related incidents and reviewed accident statistics. Principal regulations will be presented and explained (NESC, OSHA, state regulations, etc.). The authors will present recommendations on how to improve the safety programs, training, supervision, and resources. The presentation is targeted to electric utilities, especially generation, transmission, and distribution.
3:45 – Comprehensive Security Strategies for Compliance with NERC CIP, TSA Pipeline Security, and AWIA Regulations
Speaker: Eric Smith, 1898 & Co.
In today's interconnected world, securing critical infrastructure systems is paramount to ensuring the reliability and resilience of essential services. Organizations operating within sectors regulated by standards such as NERC CIP, TSA Pipeline Security, and AWIA face unique challenges in achieving compliance while maintaining robust security measures. This paper explores the most effective strategies for securing systems to meet the requirements of these diverse compliance objectives.
Relaying I
Meeting Rooms 4–6
1:00 p.m. – A Call to Action: Say YES to Restricted Earth Fault Protection
Speaker: Swagata Das, Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc.
This paper explains why the 87R element cannot detect certain ground faults in transformers; how to detect this lack of sensitivity at the time of issuing settings; and how REF can complement the 87R element to increase the dependability, sensitivity, and speed of ground fault protection in transformer relays.
1:45 – Comparative Performance Analysis of Identical Protection Functions in the Same IED Fed by Conventional and Process Bus Connected Analog Quantities
Speaker: Mike Kockott, Hitachi Energy
In digital substation applications based on IEC 61850 technology, protection IEDs obtain analog quantities and binary signals over Ethernet communication, instead of via conventional copper wires. Analog values are published as sampled values (SVs), and binary signals as GOOSE messages. In conventional substation applications, IEDs obtain analog inputs via copper wire connections from CTs/PTs to the IED inputs.
3:00 – Comparison of Processes for Testing, Commissioning, and Maintenance Methods – Digital Versus Conventional Substations
Speaker: Craig Wester, GE Grid Solutions
This paper introduces protection engineers to the differences and similarities for testing, commissioning, and maintaining digital versus conventional substation protection and control schemes. IEC 61850 station bus and process bus solutions have become popular in modern digital substations. IEC 61850 standard employs digitized analog and control signals published and subscribed among relays/IEDs and merging units. Digital substation advantages include faster implementation with fewer errors, a more reliable and repeatable final product, and significant cost savings from efficiencies in design, testing/commissioning, and operation. This paper describes commissioning and maintaining process-bus/station-bus devices such as merging units, protective relays, and Ethernet network switches, and compares these with conventional (hardwired) protection and control schemes. Discussed are digital substation design and documentation methods, configuration testing/verification, factory acceptance tests, site acceptance tests, system testing/verification, periodic/maintenance testing, and troubleshooting tools and methods.
3:45 – Revisiting Open-Phase Detection for Fuse-Protected Power Transformers
Speaker: Josh LaBlanc, Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc.
In this paper, a real-world event is used to analyze the impacts the loss of a transformer primary phase has on transformer secondary voltages for delta-wye transformers and present a new method to reliably detect this open-phase condition during permanent fault and balanced or unbalanced load impedance conditions.