Engineering Opportunities in the Electric Power Industry

Tom Ferguson Vice President -Power Delivery and Transmission Minnesota Power
UMD ECE 1001 November 9, 2004

Topics
Basics Blackout of August 14, 2003 DuluthDuluth-Wausau Transmission Project The Industry s Future Engineering Opportunities

Elements of a Power System

Generation Transmission Distribution Other

What Makes Power Systems Unique?

Speed of Light Delivery No Storage Thousands of Machines DC to Optical Technologies Solar Impacts Geographic Extent

Energy Conversion Basics

Fuel Converter

Electricity

Losses

Energy Conversion Basics

Fuel Converter
(Chemical, Hydraulic, Nuclear, Wind)

Electricity

Losses

(Thermal, electrical)

Traditional Generation
Coal Nuclear Hydro Gas Oil

Emerging Generation
Coal Gassification Advanced Nuclear Biomass Wind Solar Distributed Generation

High Voltage Transmission

Lines Substations Protective Systems Control Centers

The Blackout of August 14, 2003

The Blackout of August 14, 2003

60,000+ Megawatts Lost East Coast, Ohio River Valley, Ontario No substantial damage to grid Systems worked, but humans erred Huge political event New industry oversight

The Blackout of August 14, 2003

Who to Blame?
Terrorists Hackers Misguided regulators (Deregulation) Greedy Utilities and Marketers Complacent System Operators Federal Government/State Government Republicans/Democrats Environmentalists NIMBYs Customers

023316_PJM-NYPP_

NYISO Interface Ties August 14, 2003

3000

023317_OH-NYPP_ 013051_OH-MICHIGAN_OH 023324_HQ - NYPP_ 023318_NEPEX-NYPP_

2000

1000

-1000

-2000

-3000 16:05

16:06

16:07

16:08

16:09

16:10

16:11

16:12

16:13

16:14

16:15

Regional Lightning

June 25, 1998

1995 Energy Usage by State

140,000 120,000 100,000 GWH 80,000 60,000 40,000 20,000 Rank 2nd

Wisconsin Minnesota Iowa

Illinois Nebraska S. Dakota N. Dakota

Transmission Interties by State

40 Number of EVH and HV Interties 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Wisconsin Minnesota Iowa
1 Illinois Nebraska S. Dakota N. Dakota

Rank Last

The Industry s Future

The Future . . . A Vision for the Grid Dominated By:

Power Electronics Digital Controls TwoTwo-way Metering Distributed Resources Robust Renewables Portfolio Supportive Regulatory Environment

Engineering Opportunities
Highest Activity (related to growth)
Generator Manufacturing and Construction Control Systems and Intelligent Systems Power Flow and Stability Analysis Distribution Networks Environmental Systems

Major Employers
Utilities Power Marketers System Operators Manufacturers Consulting Firms Regulators Education Research and Development

What Makes Power Unique?

Complex Digital Control across Large Regions Expensive Assets, High Stakes Cross Disciplinary Crosshairs of Deregulation Fundamental to Economic Security

My Recommendations

Pursue registration Be a spokesperson for technology Develop communication skills Understand business Get involved in industry, community Carry the right attitude Always, always learn