Infrastructure Roots: Evolution of Electric Power in the United States

Electricity holds a unique place in the US infrastructure. It is a commodity, a technology, and a necessity. Electric utilities must walk a fine line to balance each of these aspects. While electricity is a commodity that may be bought and sold, it must also be regulated to remain affordable for the general population. Reliability is continually balanced against the cost of upgrades and maintenance. This paper discusses the interconnection of regional area power systems in the US and the benefits such interconnection brings

The Interaction of System Structure, Index, and Numerical Stability in Classes of Differential/Algebraic Systems

Systems which are difficult to solve numerically have always been considered to be ill-conditioned and their analysis has been somewhat neglected. Recent advances in DAE theory have established that, although high-index DAE systems pose some interesting challenges, they are not the anathema they were once thought to be. This paper will present several examples of DAE systems which arise in power systems and non-linear circuit analysis and will discuss both the analytical and numerical challenges these systems pose

Future Renewable Energy Delivery and Management (FREEDM) Systems

Track III: Energy InfrastructureIncludes audio file (24 min.)The mission of the FREEDM engineering research center is to develop the fundamental and enabling technology to demonstrate the FREEDM system and through such development and demonstration, foster a revolution in innovation and technology in the electric power and renewable energy industries, providing long-term energy security and environmental sustainability for the United States. The vision for the FREEDM system is an efficient electric power grid integrating highly distributed and scalable alternative generating sources and storage with existing power systems to facilitate a green-energy-based society, mitigate the growing energy crisis, and reduce the impact of carbon emissions on the environment. We believe the key to solving the energy crisis is not renewable energy alone, but the transformation of the infrastructure needed to deliver and manage large scale distributed renewable energy resources. The proposed FREEDM system is a green energy grid infrastructure that will: • Allow plug and play of any energy resource or storage device, anywhere and anytime; • Manage distributed energy resources and storage devices through Distributed Intelligence; • Pioneer a scalable and secure communication backbone; • Be capable of being totally isolated from the central grid, if necessary, continuing to operate based on 100% renewable energy; • Provide perfect power quality and guaranteed system stability; and • Have improved efficiency, operating the alternating current system with a unity power facto

The New--But Is It Improved?--Power System

In this paper, the author examines the effect that deregulation will have on the US power system. The paper details how the electric power industry in the USA is undergoing major changes, both politically and technically, as a result of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission\u27s Orders 888 and 889 issued in 1996. These orders essentially deregulate the transmission network, allowing producers and customers access to the network for electricity transactions

Programmed for Success: Educating Tomorrow\u27s Workforce

I recently stepped down as chair of the IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES) Power & Energy Education Committee (PEEC) to take my place among a very dedicated group of past chairs and exemplary educators. I have been an active member of the PEEC since the start of my academic career 20 years ago in 1990. The education committee is comprised of educators and practicing engineers who are committed to power engineering career development, university education, and lifelong learning. The committee strives to address issues of whole-life education. This issue of IEEE Power and Energy Magazine has six feature articles that discuss power engineering education in all its many facets. I will provide a brief summary of each and describe how it relates to the mission of PEEC. I encourage you to take the time to read each article in full and give us your feedback and opinions

Questioning the Metrics for Performance Evaluation

This paper is a summary of the author\u27s presentation in the panel entitled Publish or Perish: An Evaluation of the Quality, Quantity, Ethics and Review Process of IEEE/PES Publications given at the IEEE Power Engineering Society 2008 General Meeting. This paper summarizes the publication metrics that are part of the academic performance evaluation of tenure track electrical and computer engineering faculty members at U.S. Institutions. In particular, the performance metrics are discussed relative to promotion criteria

Making the Graduate-Industry Connection

Many utilities are beginning to ramp up their recruiting and hiring efforts to attract bright young engineering graduates into the industry to replace the large numbers of engineers that have recently retired or will retire in the next few years. Unfortunately, the long drought in hiring brought on by the uncertainty of deregulation and the perspective that the industry is old and conservative has caused a mismatch in the interests of young engineers and the companies that want to hire them. in addition, the number of young people pursuing engineering degrees is decreasing as they become attracted to other lucrative occupations that aren\u27t burdened by the introverted, nerdy stereotypes typical of engineering careers. One way to address this problem is for companies to establish a supportive relationship with a university through formal and informal recruiting activities. While there are a number of strategies that companies can adopt to identify and recruit good students, three primary recruiting strategies have proven effective: on-campus recruiting, co-op and internship programs, and career fairs. Campus partnerships yield considerable benefits for both the industry and the university, and the benefits far outweight the time and financial commitments required

Power Engineering Education: Challenges and Opportunities

This paper presents a summary of the presentation given at the IEEE Power Engineering Society 2008 General Meeting in the Panel Session Education of the Power Engineer of the Future. In this paper the author presents the challenges facing the current engineering student and the faculty who teach them. Challenges include declining student interest, volatile job markets, and the changing profile of the power and energy industry