Recently, I had to address the next generation of engineering students who attended the North American Power Symposium (NAPS) hosted by New Mexico State University. At the awards luncheon, I shared industry advances that are moving us toward a more intelligent grid. More than 100 electrical engineering students majoring in power were in attendance.

The students were not one bit intimidated as we discussed the advanced hardware, software and devices that make up our intelligent transmission and distribution networks. Today, our utilities are installing sophisticated monitoring and diagnostic systems that collect data on the condition of our transmission lines and substations in real time. We also are connecting with utility customers in real time, whether responding to outages or managing demand on customer sites.

I received a quick lesson in “Engineering students think…” when students shared what was on their minds:

• Would I be better off spending my time studying computer programming or in learning how to balance a distribution feeder?

• Should I focus on high-speed communications or power system stability?

• I'm considering studying instrumentation theory rather than transmission line design. What are your thoughts?

Dang, these students really put me in a corner! As I struggled to come up with an answer, I looked around the room and saw Dr. Satish Ranade, one of my professors from my graduate school days, smiling at me. That grin spoke volumes.

Several years earlier, he and I had a coffee-cup conversation about the curriculum, and I had asked him a similar question related to my studies. He responded to me then, “If you don't understand the basics of power, how can you competently apply technology to power systems?”

So, I now had an angle for addressing these student queries. Their futures (and our industry's) hinge on the paths they decide to take today.

As I drove home from the symposium, my interaction with this next generation continued to play on my thoughts. I realized we tend to think technology can deliver magical solutions. Doug Houseman with the Smart Energy Alliance shared with me that his team had searched for the technology equivalent of a silver bullet that would replace the existing grid, but no such bullet exists. Instead, we must be smart about how we apply new technologies to the grid, which brings me back full circle.

The students asked why a power engineering student should study, say, motor theory — as if we have surpassed the basics. Consider GE's variable frequency transformer (VFT). This new state-of-the-art technology is used to connect two asynchronous transmission grids. Guess what: It is a motor. Granted, it is a motor with one heck of a lot of microprocessors controlling and monitoring its functions, but it is still a motor. One grid is connected to the rotor and the other grid is connected to the stator. Apply a torque to the rotor and power flows proportionally to the magnitude of that torque and the direction of the applied torque. We are talking basic engineering theory here.

Another advanced technology is the flexible ac transmission systems (FACTS) controllers offered by suppliers such as ABB, Siemens, AREVA, S&C and others to solve active and reactive power-flow problems. Look at the static VAR compensator (SVC). It is a FACTS-based controller that is a combination of a shunt reactor and a shunt capacitor switched by thyristors.

These devices have been used on utility systems for years using mechanical switches. Power electronics allows for dynamic switching, but it is still a combination of reactors and capacitors. The engineer has to understand the basic theory behind installing reactors and capacitors on the system. Remember ELI the ICE man memory aid we learned in power systems 101? It helped us remember whether voltage leads current if we are dealing with a reactor or a capacitor and it still applies when we install SVCs on the grid today. So it comes down to this: We still need to grasp the basics even when we are applying the latest and most advanced technologies.

The basic concepts of power engineering are valid and will always be valid. Our technical foundation must be strong as we work to build out our delivery systems. We have professors committed to graduating well-rounded engineers, because our engineering students transitioning into the workforce must have access to a strong technical foundation. Professors must first stress the basics and then build upon that foundation. After all, our grid can only be as intelligent as those who design and build it.

Editor's Note: Gene Wolf has been writing a series on the intelligent grid. The first two supplements appeared in the December 2006 and April 2007 issues of T&D World. The third is in this issue, and the final installment, which will focus on the utility/customer connection, is scheduled for February 2008.