Sessions

To register for this course, click here! Effective project management for electric, water, and gas utilities relies on superior implementation approaches, techniques, and skills. Implementation success for utility projects is not a given in our industry in general where as many as 80% of projects fail to meet their technical, cost, or schedule objectives. For projects which have achieved success, strong project management has proven to be the essential ingredient. The documented benefits of good project management are myriad, but the effects are easy to see: projects which deliver to their goals despite the inevitable hurdles present in any large-scale endeavor.  Describe the specific knowledge, skills and/or capabilities that attendees should acquire through this course.    This course distills lessons learned and best practices from successful projects into an understandable guide and roadmap for those either about to embark, or currently managing a project. Students will be taken through the planning process, from the very first planning steps through the project closeout and operational transition, and how to position the organization for even greater benefit in the future. Specific guidelines, approaches, and techniques to avoid issues and maximize benefits, with examples and case studies tools will be taught. By the end of the course, the student will have gained the knowledge and key lessons learned to manage successfully based on multiple utility implementations.  Who should attend this course? All utility personnel involved in utility projects, from executive sponsors and project management to utility operational personnel, will benefit from the complete understanding of project resource needs, business impacts, customer benefits/impacts, and technology.  Prerequisite skills, knowledge, certifications  A college education and familiarity with utility operations is helpful.

To register for this course, click here! Course purpose: The course will show attendees examples of how utilities are evolving their grid modernization investments while migrating from Smart Grid 1.0 to Smart Grid 2.0 and into the Digital Utility 3.0 level.  This course lays out a transformation path regardless of the starting point.  What many utilities have found over the last few years, even with the best vendors selected and very good intentions of maximizing the benefits identified in the business cases, is that often after a few years something was missing holding them back from getting all the value from their investments. The following items will be covered: Key Trends for Future Technology Considerations: i) Overall utility technology trends,  ii) Current state of grid modernization taking place, iii) Communications infrastructure future, and iiii) Utility of the future - what does it look like. Learn from the Past: Review of 2001-2021 Smart Grid investment shortfalls that existed even at progressive utilities, which typically were keeping them from maximizing their investment. Approaches for Developing the Digital Utility Roadmap: Establishing digital utility and technology investments in the overall Strategic Plan Migration from current automation to next-generation investments: 1) Nextgen AMI, 2) SCADA to ADMS, 3) Communicating with DER endpoints, 4) Work Management to Asset Management, 5) Next Gen. Mobile Workforce optimization Electric Infrastructure Foundations Next-Generation Communications Infrastructure Managing DER and Behind-the-Meter (BTM) Programs  New Customer Offerings (products/services) Maximizing Analytics Staffing trends needed for the digital utility. Approaches for Justifying and Getting Approval for digital utility investments Describe the specific knowledge, skills, and/or capabilities that attendees should acquire through this course.  Insights on separating “industry hype from reality.” An understanding of the differences in the business case output from foundational investments i.e., GIS, MDM, FAN, etc.) to applications-specific investments AMI, DA, DER communications. Approaches to a gradual smart migration to next-generation AMI to the Field Area Network to BTM communications. The methodology for creating a digital utility roadmap. The methodology for maximizing organizational change management. New approaches for growing new types of revenue outside of traditional regulated kWh or Therms driven consumption. Who should attend this course?  Utility and vendor executives tasked with creating a digital utility plan. Utility executives to project managers from IT tasked with building the future digital infrastructure. Experienced engineers that oversee SCADA, ADMS, DA, AMI, and new DER programs that are now tasked with replacing their legacy communications infrastructure with the next generation communications Vendors are creating new product lines to address the digital utility needs of the future. Prerequisite skills, knowledge, certifications: None

To register for this course, click here! The purpose of this course is to educate utility, regulator, and vendor decision-makers and implementers on the new IEEE 1547.1 Interoperability requirements (section 10 in IEEE 1547-2018); help the audience understand what is/is not included in certified UL 1741 SB products vis-à-vis interoperability; provide guidance on the implications of the new Interoperability requirement for utilities, regulators and vendors; and to suggest strategies for leveraging the game-changing inverter technology.      This course describes the fundamental challenges in integrating inverter-based DERs into grid operations and the significant changes being implemented by inverter vendors to enable more scalable interoperability between all systems in the Grid-DER management infrastructure.    The course is aimed at those decision-makers and implementers working on short-term and long-term strategic plans for scaling DER integration into grid operations.  The understanding and adoption of standard communications protocols for inverter-based communications are critical to success.  Who should attend this course? The course is aimed at senior executives, product managers, engineers, software developers, system architects, and IT professionals who are planning to (or in the process of) design, integrate, or maintain a scalable DER communications infrastructure using standard communication protocols.   Attendees should have a working knowledge of DER products and capabilities as defined by IEEE 1547-2018.   Experience with DER interconnection requirements and management of DERs would be beneficial but not required.  Experience in the field is probably more important as a pre-requisite than specific degrees or certifications. 

To register for this course, click here! This course will provide an overview of the use of the Common Information Model (CIM) for organizing grid model data,  focusing on the use of CIM data constructs to enable effective network model data management solutions inside the utility enterprise. The course will cover a variety of topics related to leveraging the CIM to improve utility management of grid model data, including: The distribution network model management challenge Organizing utility grid model data management using a business function approach Grid Model Manager tool functional requirements CIM data constructs for the modeling of power system data CIM data constructs for the management of power system data CIM-related IEC Standards overview Areas of current CIM activity relevant to distribution grid model management The course is suited to technical and manager-level utility personnel working in the operations, planning, or GIS areas as well as those working in IT roles supporting those areas. It will provide information useful to utility personnel in: designing local solutions for managing network model data from its source in engineering and facilities tools to its ultimate use in planning, protection, and operations network analysis tools specifying CIM-standard interfaces in tool procurements specifying requirements for tools expected to perform the grid model management function It is also suited to vendor personnel who are developers or product managers for tools that are used to supply, consume, or manage grid model data (including GIS, engineering design tools, and network analysis software such as planning/protection tools and OMS, DMS or ADMS). The course will provide information vendor personnel would find useful in: understanding the enterprise-wide requirements of distribution utilities related to grid model management designing CIM-aligned tool interfaces that enable effective utility model management solutions understanding the functional requirements of tools intended to deliver grid model management capability Attendees familiar with the use, creation, or management of grid model data at utilities will gain maximum benefit from this course.  

To register for this course, click here! The purpose of this course is to educate students on:  The role of Outage Management Systems (OMS) at utilities  The core OMS modules and functions   The role of GIS models in OMS  How Emergency Management practices are being embraced and used by utilities  How customer communications are evolving related to outages Describe the specific knowledge, skills and/or capabilities that attendees should acquire through this course.    Learn about:  Outage Management System Modules and Capabilities  Outage communications   ADMS and OMS operations business processes and trends  Maintaining OMS models  Seattle City Light’s OMS (a case study) Use of OMS at CenterPoint Energy and one other utility in both blue sky days and during storms  Overview of the future directions of OMS   Who should attend this course?    New OMS (and ADMS) end-users  OMS administrators  Control Center Managers  Customer Service managers  People involved in the procurement of a new or replacement OMS or ADMS.  Prerequisite skills, knowledge, certifications  A limited and/or minimal understanding of electric utility practices  No IT, OMS or emergency management experience needed 

To register for this course, click here! The hype around storage is only matched by the need for storage as the grid transforms.  This course will provide the following information: Fact based comparison between the different types of storage available An understanding of the characteristics of storage  11 different types of standard batteries,   7 different kinds of flow batteries, and   24 different types of non-battery storage (e.g., hydrogen, ammonia, small pumped hydro, etc.).   Safety, capital cost, O&M cost, facility life, storage life, ramp rates, charge time, round trip efficiency, etc.  Discussion of uses cases, duration and value   Regulations and compliance standards for storage including an introduction to NFPA855 An understanding of which questions to ask storage vendors. Who should attend this course?   Energy industry professionals who want have basic knowledge about energy storage in order to help identify which type of storage will meet their needs.   This course is designed to be jargon-free and provide a basic understanding of storage in layman’s terms. It is useful for all levels from final decision makers to line engineers.  

To register for this course, click here! Course purpose This course will provide information electric utilities need to plan, integrate, and commission an advanced distribution management system (ADMS) that includes functions for electrical optimization, outage management, DER Management, and other advanced applications. Describe the specific knowledge, skills and/or capabilities that attendees should acquire through this course.  System integration guidelines and challenges Current vendor offerings Implementation strategy Lessons learned by at least two leading utilities who have recent ADMS implementation experience Who should attend this course Electric utility operators, engineers and managers involved in the operation, design and optimization of electric distribution systems Representatives of electric distribution companies that are implementing or planning to implement ADMS functionality Information technology and business process personnel responsible for system integration and transitioning to modern distribution control centers Financial personnel interested in the business case for deploying ADMS Prerequisite skills, knowledge, certifications Knowledge of electric distribution operations Business processes for managing customer outages General knowledge of communication media for remote monitoring and control of electric power apparatus

To register for this course, click here! This course provides an examination of the fundamentals of electric utility supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems with a focus on case studies, industry best practices, and application of the concepts. Key topics to be covered include:  SCADA system benefits, building blocks, and system integration  The business case for SCADA  Delivering reliability outcomes through digital technologies  Introduction to and comparison of communication technologies and protocols  The use of SCADA in emerging applications  Describe the specific knowledge, skills and/or capabilities that attendees should acquire through this course.  A student new to SCADA will leave with a thorough understanding of why these systems are so important to reliable grid operation as well as what other technologies and considerations accompany an actual deployment. A critical component of this class is the opportunity to ask questions of the presenters and share experiences/issues with follow classmates. The presenters have over 60 years combined experience in this area so the talk will include many “real world” equipment and project examples (utility case studies) to go along with the technology narrative.  Who should attend this course?  Engineers and managers responsible for planning and cost justifying SCADA, communications, and smart grid  Engineers responsible for designing and implementing a SCADA, communications, or smart grid project, or contributing to its design and implementation  Nontechnical professionals who wish to get an introduction to SCADA and smart grid  technologies  Operators and technicians working with SCADA, communications or smart grid  systems  Project Managers  Engineers and sales personnel working for suppliers and integrators of hardware and software products used in SCADA, communications or smart grid  and related fields  Prerequisite skills, knowledge, certifications  No prior knowledge of SCADA or certifications required 

To register for this course, click here! In this course the Chair of the IEEE DNP Technical Committee will explain the philosophy (and terminology) underpinning IEEE Standard 1815 (DNP3); explain its structural components and clarify a number of areas that people sometimes find difficult to grasp. Some lesser-known features of DNP3 and current developments will also be discussed. The course is structured to encourage attendees to question or discuss any aspect of DNP3 or SCADA systems that interest them, without being restricted to the course’s topic areas.  Topics:  DNP3 Philosophy & Terminology Addressing Data Models, Data Types & Structures Data Collection & Control Mechanisms DNP3 Classes DNP3 Subset Levels Less well-known features: Engineering Cybersecurity Mapping to IEC 61850 DER applications Conformance Testing Prerequisites:  Attendees should have familiarity with SCADA systems, but are not required to have detailed knowledge of DNP3. Target Audience:  Engineers and technicians responsible for design, specification, configuration, installation and fault-finding of SCADA equipment that uses DNP3 for transmission of SCADA data. 

To register for this course, click here! As the power system is moving toward an inverter-dominated system, this course is intended to inform the audience on the need for grid-forming inverters, including the definition, use cases, and performance requirements of these inverters.  Describe the specific knowledge, skills and/or capabilities that attendees should acquire through this course.   Attendees of the course will acquire knowledge on:   System needs from inverter-based resources in an inverter-dominated system  The definition of a grid-forming inverter and how it differs from a grid-following inverter  Grid-forming control methods and their high-level operation principles  Use cases for grid-forming inverters in the distribution and transmission grid  Performance requirements of grid-forming inverters in utility-scale microgrids    Who should attend this course?    Engineers and consultants working in the areas of  Transmission planning and operations  Distribution planning and operations  Microgrid design and operation  Owners of inverter-based generation resources  Inverter vendors    Prerequisite skills, knowledge, certifications  Basic understanding of power system operation and grid support from inverter-based resources