IEEE Metropolitan Los Angeles Section Power & Energy Society Chapter

Power system frequency and voltage control are vital for maintaining power grid stability. With the large-scale integration of power electronic converter-interfaced sources into power grids (e.g., wind farms, solar-PV systems, and battery energy storage systems), the conventional frequency and voltage control strategies are rapidly becoming inadequate due to reduced system inertia and strength. Therefore, new strategies should be deployed to maintain frequency and voltage within acceptable levels stipulated in grid codes/ rules, such as by employing grid forming and grid-supporting inverters. This tutorial will cover the power system frequency and voltage control aspects in converter-interfaced renewable-rich power grids, including the modeling and controlling of grid-forming and grid-supporting inverters. Moreover, the tutorial will also shed light on emerging system support services in frequency and voltage control domains.

Due to changing utility infrastructure with regards to increased penetration of inverter-based generation and retirement of conventional generation, dynamic shunt compensation solutions are becoming ever more vital for transmission system operation and reliability. The emergence of Voltage Source Converter (VSC) STATCOMs with and without energy storage has increased potential grid support applications through grid-forming control strategies. This tutorial presents study methodologies covering functional network and performance requirements during different stages of a grid-forming STATCOM project, including Planning, Specification, Design, Manufacturing, and Commissioning. Validation of the performance using hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) and software-in-the-loop (SIL) testing will be discussed. Case studies and examples will be presented.

This tutorial will inform attendees of emerging challenges and opportunities in transmission planning and introduce them to methods to address these challenges and take advantage of these opportunities throughout the transmission planning process, with a focus on the execution of quantitative studies. The following challenges and opportunities will be addressed: (a) Extreme weather and natural disasters (challenge). (b) Large-scale loads and other phenomena on the load side (challenge). (c) Decarbonization policies (challenge). (d) New technologies (FACTS, GETs, etc.) (opportunity). First, each of the challenges and opportunities will be addressed separately, covering: (1) Description of the challenge or opportunity. (2) Incorporation into the transmission planning process: (2.1) Modeling and decision-making in quantitative studies. (2.2) Stakeholder consultation and other process requirements. The trainers will then explore how to consider interactions between these challenges and opportunities to ensure transmission planning contributes to supply reliability, affordability, and sustainability.

The need for modeling and simulation of large grids with IBRs is constantly increasing. This tutorial is about various methods, tools, and techniques on this challenging topic. Practical cases will be presented and analyzed.

This tutorial will consist of basic knowledge of voltage ride-through capability and performance (including fault current injection) of Inverter-Based Resources. The grid-following and grid-forming technologies will be discussed. The tutorial will discuss the latest on short-circuit modeling of IBRs as well as protection considerations based on the experience of various utilities and relay manufacturers for IBR-dominated power grids.

This course is based on work with over 20 utilities during the last decade in creating, updating, and improving the interconnection process for the distribution of connected renewables, storage, electric vehicles, and other interconnections. The course assumes you have a basic understanding of interconnections and why the interconnection process exists. It will cover: how not to do interconnections, how to avoid regulatory complaints, separation of information within the utility to comply with state and federal regulations, what studies need to be done and when to do those studies, recent changes in regulations, and the impact on the process, avoiding bad applications, dealing with bad installers and developers, best practices in timing and payments, reserving rights for future needs, parallel operating agreements, material changes, inspections, the likely impacts of FERC 2222, 901A, 2023A, 841/2/5, and more. The course will be highly interactive, so please bring your questions!

As the State with the largest production of electricity and the largest commercial hydrogen infrastructure, the Texas industry is actively exploring effective synergies. The tutorial will begin with an introduction to hydrogen to provide a common understanding for the remainder of the presentations. The talks and panel discussions will describe how the production, use, and storage of hydrogen have the potential to improve and decarbonize power system operations. Technical, cost, and regulatory realities will be highlighted to provide a perspective on what are short-term opportunities and what are likely many longer-term possibilities.

There is a consensus in the industry that deep decarbonization in the electric power system will not be achieved without a combination of storage technologies, with durations ranging from short-term to emerging, advanced long-term technologies. This decarbonizing the power system will likely require high penetration of variable renewable technologies such as wind in solar. The intermittent nature of these technologies, at high penetration levels, has the potential to create gaps in power delivery. These gaps can be from short-term fluctuations with over/under supply, or long-term issues related to weather patterns. Energy storage can fill these gaps with technologies that can align with each of the power gaps that may arise when efforts to decarbonize the power sector lead to renewable penetration levels in the range of 70-100%. Hence, this tutorial will focus on energy storage technologies and help participants understand storage technologies and how best to apply short-term and long-term technologies to the challenges created by high penetration of renewables. The tutorial will help attendees understand all aspects of short and long-duration storage in a session that covers (1) technologies – short and long duration, (2) challenges created by high penetration of renewables, (3) applications for energy storage and markets that can support those technologies in a deeply decarbonized power system, (4) latest updates on standards for deploying storage, and (5) a review of safety issues with the technologies.

This tutorial introduces the audience to the mathematical background and the implementation of distribution systems dynamic models within open-source power system simulators in the frequency domain. The mathematical content of this tutorial is reviewed for the audience’s awareness of the existing models for representing traditional equipment, such as synchronous machines, and non-traditional devices, such as Inverter Resources (IBR). This introduction will reveal the constraints and requisites for their implementation in computational simulation tools. The implementation of both traditional and non-traditional equipment will be examined using EPRI’s open-source distribution system simulator, OpenDSS, describing the sequence of events for obtaining a successful dynamic simulation, which later is verified with a practical example.

Global concerns for sustainable decarbonization encompass all sectors including the maritime one which comprises inter alias ships and their hosting places, ports. Thus, the decarbonization of inland power grids needs to comply with the maritime one and serve one another in a mutually beneficial way. Within this context, electrification is proven to be the ultimate means, esp. in the case of “shore-to-ship” electrical interconnection (often met as “cold ironing”) which means that the ships while at berth in ports, shutdown their engines and are supplied from the inland Grid, the energy of which is based on environmental friendly Renewable Energy Sources (RES). Major challenges consist of the huge amounts of power a ship needs (varying from 200 kW up to 15 MW) as well as voltage transformation, frequency conversion, and earthing compatibilities. Anyhow, the existing or under-development-related technology is proven to, from the maturity point of view, be readily available. This maturity is enriched and supported via the set of IEEE standards for ships (IEEE 45.1-.8 series developed within IEEE/PES/MSCC), while for ports with ship interconnections (IEC/ISO/IEEE 80005-1/2/3). Moreover, IEEE/EPPC has just launched a new policy document on “smart and sustainable ports” providing the roadmap towards the successful implementation and operation of the decarbonization of ports, while the ICA-22-13 keeps identifying gaps and missing links. Hence, the tutorial aims at presenting the partial objectives of the electrification of ports in terms of planning from the TSO and DSO point of view, designing the high-power networks needed and integrating them into the existing infrastructure of the ports as well as connecting them to the main Grid, operating them via well-trained personnel and using appropriate business models with viable pricing policy of electricity while complying with the free market frameworks. Within this context, the specificities of the emerging challenge of port electric distribution networks in combination with modern ship electric networks will be analyzed and discussed. In all cases, the parallel developments of power grids (smart grids, microgrids, smart metering, flexibility, demand side response, and resilience) will be commended.

State Estimator technology has been in use in Control Centers for over 3 decades. It is still a challenge to support the State Estimator (SE) 24 x 7 due to its critical role in ensuring Grid reliability and in supporting operational decision-making tools in real-time, more so due to the extensive penetration of renewables. Due to its scope and complexity, it is still perplexing to many who are involved in supporting the tool. The tutorial provides several key aspects including the criticality of SE, the extent of network model choice of detail, solution quality, tuning, and 24 x 7 support system all of them in a nutshell. This tutorial provides a basic understanding of State Estimator as used in the industry, its criticality in control centers in operating the grid reliably and provides insights into industry practices to support 24 x 7 and provides the challenges due to renewable penetration. This tutorial is taught by industry practitioners beginning as frontline engineers and managing the technology over years of experience. The tutorial is suitable for students, engineers, managers, and researchers to provide support and practical solutions.

The IEEE Std 2800 was published in April of 2022 which specified technical minimum capability and performance requirements for Inverter-Based Resources. This tutorial will provide insights into the origination, details, interpretation, and application of some of the included requirements in the standard. Some lessons are learned as the industry adopts this standard and the corresponding recommended practice for test and verification procedures are being developed in IEEE P2800.2. This tutorial will also highlight these lessons learned which may inform the next revision of the standard. This may include example requirements that may need further clarity and requirements that may need to be fully revised. An informed audience may help in the faster adoption and timely revision of this standard.

As utilities around the world begin to explore the potential of IEC 61850 through pilot projects, this standard is emerging as a key enabler for modernizing substation protection, automation, and control. IEC 61850 offers unparalleled interoperability, flexibility, and scalability, transforming how utilities design, manage, and upgrade their systems. This tutorial will provide a comprehensive introduction to the fundamentals of IEC 61850, explaining its core principles, including object modeling, the communication stack, and key communication services. Attendees will learn about the benefits of interoperability that IEC 61850 brings to digital substations, such as reduced engineering efforts, increased system reliability, and seamless multi-vendor integration. Additionally, we will explore the practical challenges of implementing IEC 61850. The tutorial will offer actionable insights on how attendees can apply these concepts to their systems, helping to modernize operations while ensuring future-proof scalability, performance, and reliability.

Instructor: Brent Olsen Brent has 16 years of experience working at Electric Utilities Arizona Public Service (APS), Salt River Project (SRP), and Portland General Electric (PGE).  He has degrees in Electrical Engineering, Energy Policy and Management, Spanish, MBA & PMP.  He has been a Distribution Engineer, Transmission Engineer, and Generation engineer and is currently a Project Manager for Dispatchable Standby Generation.  He teaches basics of electricity courses at Portland General Electric, Clackamas Community College, and a variety of other groups.  Brent lives in Portland with his wife and 3 energetic boys. Course Description: The focus of this course is to provide a fundamental foundation in electric power systems, from basic formulas to the planning, operations, and equipment involved in generating, transmitting, and distributing electric power. Basic electrical terminology will be explained in simple-to-understand language about the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of power plants, substations, and transmission and distribution lines. Anyone who is involved in some way with the electric utility industry can benefit from attendance at this course. Topics covered in the course include an introduction to the fundamentals and basic formulas of electricity as well as the equipment involved in the electric power system. An overview of generation, substations, transmission, distribution, and utilization is provided. Protection, reliable operation, and safety are among the topics covered.   This Plain Talk will be presented live at the 2025 IEEE PES General Meeting in Austin, Texas.

Instructor: Doug Houseman Doug is a veteran of the industry, with many years of experience in the global industry. He has spent the last two decades consulting on T&D-related issues. Doug is the Utility Modernization Lead at Burns & McDonnell and the former vice president of Technical Innovation at EnerNex. He is a senior member of IEEE and a very active member of the Power and Energy Society. His work spans more than 50 countries and more than 200 utilities. Course Description: Prerequisite for this course is Power System Basics or a familiarity with basic formulas and power system equipment. The focus of this course is to provide attendees with an overview of the issues associated with the planning, engineering, design, operation, and automation of electrical distribution systems. Types of distribution systems and network circuits, as well as engineering issues related to distribution systems will be explored. New concepts in the design, challenges, and operation of smart grid will be addressed. This course is intended for those who are not familiar with the delivery of electricity to the end user. Topics covered in the course include an introduction to the types of distribution systems, issues associated with distribution planning such as outages and reliability, distribution engineering considerations relating to radial and secondary networks, and distribution automation. The course also provides an overview of electrical distribution operations, including the roles of utility personnel, construction and maintenance considerations, and trends in the industry. The smart grid and its impact on the distribution system will be explored. This Plain Talk will be presented live at the 2025 IEEE PES General Meeting in Austin, Texas.

Instructor: Douglas A. Bowman Douglas is a Lead Engineer in the R&D and Special Studies group at Little Rock, AR-based Southwest Power Pool, where he has served in various engineering roles within SPP’s engineering business. Doug is also the current chair of the Central Arkansas chapter of the IEEE Power and Energy Society. Course Description: Prerequisite for this course is Power System Basics or a familiarity with basic formulas and power system equipment. The focus of this course is to provide participants with knowledge of how electric power is transferred from generation sources to distribution systems via the interconnected electric bulk power system known as “the grid.” Basic physical laws governing the grid will be introduced, as well as the regulatory agencies involved in its governance. The great blackouts will be explored. This course is intended to increase participant’s understanding of the electric grid and how it functions in the electric power system. Topics covered in the course include an introduction to the fundamental concepts of power, energy, and power system stability as they relate to the grid. The grid is explored in terms of its interconnections, power flow, North American interconnections, and governing bodies such as NERC/ERO, ISOs, and RTOs. Reliability standards and contingency analysis are addressed. Issues related to the planning and operation of the grid, such as transmission and economic constraints, determining transmission transfer capability, and dealing with congestion are reviewed. The course also discusses the great blackouts, their root causes, and lessons learned. This Plain Talk will be presented live at the 2025 IEEE PES General Meeting in Austin, Texas.