Over dinner, Fred Dennert and I were chatting about my favorite topic, the electric power grid. We were wrestling over what part we might play in maintaining the quality of the components that make up the grid. That led to us talk about how we, as engineers, could hold our industry to high professional standards. That's when Fred pointed to the iron ring on his little finger. Fred had participated in the “Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer” when he graduated from the University of British Columbia. This ring serves as a constant reminder of his commitment and obligation to uphold the integrity of the engineering profession. Earlier in his career, Fred had been asked to do something he considered to be unethical. Pointing to his ring, he said, “I can't do that. I took a vow to uphold the calling of an engineer, and what you are asking me to do would go against that vow.”

Dennert, the division manager in distribution standards at BC Hydro (Vancouver, Canada) was participating in a National Electric Energy Testing, Research and Applications Center Advisory Board meeting being held in Chicago, Illinois, U.S. NEETRAC is a Georgia Institute of Technology Center that provides testing and research for the power delivery industry. I love the premise behind NEETRAC that electric utilities and manufacturers can come to an independent, nonprofit facility to determine the performance of materials and equipment used on electric power delivery systems.

You might not know that I worked for 22 years at the predecessor facilities at the Georgia Power Research Center that ultimately became NEETRAC. This facility has the ability to perform lightning impulse tests up to 2.2 MV, ac and dc high-voltage testing to 1 MV, and high-current testing to 6000 A. It also has a 150,000-lb (68,039-kg) tensile machine and a 60,000-lb (27,216-kg) compression tester. But the facilities were limited in that they did not have the capacity to perform high-power tests.

That limitation exists no longer.

John Estey, CEO of S&C Electric Co., had long wanted to put in a high-power laboratory in his facility located just north of downtown Chicago. He was tired of sending the switchgear S&C builds to other countries for testing. He had even strategically squirreled away a set of high-power generators and associated test equipment he had purchased in 1990. When S&C became employee-owned, Estey had the opportunity to invest the additional US$35 million to $40 million needed to build out a high-power lab. But Estey also wanted to make the high-power facilities available to industry, so he worked with NEETRAC director Rick Hartlein to develop a mechanism where NEETRAC engineers can oversee high-power tests performed here for NEETRAC members. They then obtain third-party verification data along with proprietary test results.

Talk about a win, win, win. A win for utility staff engineers who can justify the trip to Chicago to witness short-circuit tests. A win for other suppliers in the United States who want to witness high-power testing being performed locally. And a win for me, because I got to tour the new facilities with NEETRAC members.

S&C Vice President Tom Tobin was clearly tickled with this test facility as he explained how the two 850-MVA short-circuit-rated generators, the 5-MW super exciters, the 80-KA air blast breakers, and the current-control inductors and resistors work together to maintain a constant current during high-power testing. By stepping up voltage through short-circuit-rated transformers, three phase tests can be performed at 15 kV to 190 kV. Single-phase tests can be performed up to 220 kV.

We watched as technicians put an S&C IntelliRupter PulseCloser to the test. We were witnesses to quite a shaking, rattling and rolling as the switchgear successfully operated under four successive programmed short circuits.

Now through NEETRAC, utility and supplier members can get their circuit breakers, switchgear, separable connectors, fault interrupters, reclosers and numerous other components and devices high-power tested with a quick turnaround time.

So, why should we get excited over enhanced testing capabilities? Our utility executives are pushing us hard to hold down costs. But if cutting costs impacts quality, we are obligated to push back. But we need to be armed with more than opinions. We need test data. And we need that data to simulate the conditions our devices will experience on the grid.

Let's make sure we are installing devices that will prove the test of time and last for 30 to 40 years under harsh conditions. Whether or not we wear an iron ring, we need nerves of steel to stand up for our engineering profession as we continue to design and build out our power grid.

Editor's note: Engineering colleges in the United States are now following Canada's lead in embracing the “Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer.” For more information on the history of the iron ring, visit www.ironring.ca. For more information on the NEETRAC facility, visit www.neetrac.gatech.edu or contact my old college roommate Rick Hartlein at rick.hartlein@neetrac.gatech.edu.