Completed Short Course “Fundamentals of Electric Transmission Planning” Held in Person at TAMUS on March 19-21, 2024

High voltage electric grids are some of the world’s most complex machines, whose present high levels of reliability have been achieved through careful planning. The purpose of this three-day short course is to provide a comprehensive coverage of the processes used in doing this planning. The course philosophy is to provide a practical, hands-on approach to describing electric transmission grid planning, with abundant practical examples illustrating each stage in the process. Particular attention will be given to those studies driven by regulatory processes relevant to utilities in North America such as by the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) or the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC). Throughout the course concepts will be illustrated using common industrial planning tools including PowerWorld Simulator with some hands-on exercises. Collectively the three course instructors have decades of experience in doing electric power system planning, planning software tool development, and engineering education. Hours: CEU 2.1, PDH 21.

Targeted Audience

The course is designed to provide a comprehensive coverage of the fundamentals of the planning of high voltage electric power systems. It is ideally suited for electrical engineers who have minimal experience in power system planning, including new graduates and engineers from other areas of the utility industry. The course will also be useful for managers who would like to gain and understanding of the planning process, for those working in the policy and regulatory areas, for academics wishing to gain a practical understanding of the planning process, and for graduate students interested in careers in the power industry.

Course Topics

Overview of the electric grid and the history of planning
The art of planning
The power system modeling process
Power flow applied to large systems
Application of static analysis tools for planning
Security constrained optimal power flow and locational marginal prices (LMPs)
Power system visualization for planning
Operations: what a planner needs to know
Advanced power grid transmission technologies and their role in planning
Large-scale regional transmission grid planning
Generator interconnection studies
Techniques for automating the planning process
Power system dynamics and stability
Planning for a high percentage of renewables
Dealing with bad data
The role of regional planning committees
Planning for electric grid resilience
Dealing with bad data
The role of regional planning committees
Planning for electric grid resilience
Communicating results

Date

March 19-21, 2024

Location

The short course will be held in person at room 3339 the Center for Infrastructure Renewal, RELLIS Campus.

Instructors

Tom Overbye

Tom Overbye, the Course Director, is a Professor and holder of the O’Donnell Foundation Chair III in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Texas A&M University (TAMU), and Director of TEES Smart Grid Center. He received his BS, MS, and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the
University of Wisconsin-Madison. Before starting his academic career he was employed with Madison Gas and Electric Company, working in their planning and operations departments. He is the original developer of PowerWorld Simulator (a widely used power system planning tool), a cofounder of PowerWorld Corporation, and an author of a widely used Power System Analysis and Design book. He is a recipient of the IEEE Power and Energy Society Outstanding Power Engineering Educator Award, an IEEE Fellow, a member of the US National Academy of Engineering, and was responsible for the initial development of PowerWorld Simulator.

Tracy Rolstad

Tracy Rolstad is an engineer with Trina Solar. He received his BSEE from the University of Idaho and a graduate diploma from the Naval War College (College of Naval Command and Staff). He started his career in power systems as a Reactor Operator and Engineering Watch Supervisor in the United States Navy (onboard USS Hawkbill) serving 22 years in the Navy and Navy Reserve. His experience in power system planning and modeling began at the Joint Warfare Analysis Center and then developed and evolved at the Bonneville Power Administration (technical operations), as a Principal Engineer at Utility System Efficiencies and later at several other companies. Tracy has served as the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) Technical Studies Subcommittee Chair, Vice-Chair, and Secretary. Additionally, he served as the WECC RAS and Relay Workgroup Chair addressing modeling issues related to 2011 AZ to CA outage. He is a member of the IEEE and the VFW.

Scott Dahman

Scott Dahman has served as Director of Business Development at PowerWorld Corporation since 2003, where he conducts consulting studies and marketing efforts for the company’s software and services. He has performed numerous studies since 2013 of the impact of GMD and HEMP across the major North American interconnected synchronous power grids. He also has several years of experience in manufacturing, strategic material sourcing, and corporate financial and operations analysis at Emerson Electric Company, a multinational industrial automation systems manufacturer. He also served as a consultant and project manager at privately held Zurheide-Hermann Consulting Engineers, where he led construction design projects. He obtained a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and a Master of Business Administration from Washington University in 1993 and 1994, respectively, and an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2003. His research interests included power systems analysis, economics, and financial risk management. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Illinois.

More on Dr. Overbye’s research is posted here.

For more information about this course, or other upcoming Texas A&M electric power short
courses contact Tom Overbye at overbye@tamu.edu or Andrea Kishne at akishne@tamu.edu