Event Recordings

Synchronised Phasor Measurement
6 August 2020 - Stuart Ednie

SYNOPSIS

With modern power systems battling with issues they were never designed for, the limits of existing SCADA systems for real-time monitoring are quickly being reached. Synchronised Phasor Measurement technology has played a large role in overcoming these limits in the Tasmanian power system and its use is set to grow further. This presentation will cover what the phasor measurement technology is and key differences from conventional SCADA information, then give an overview of its use at TasNetworks now and into the future.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Stuart Ednie

Stuart Ednie is a protection, control and SCADA systems engineer with 6 years’ power industry experience in transmission, distribution and generation. He has a passion for applying modern and innovative technology to better utilise the existing power system.

The Future of Electric Vehicles
28 July 2020 - Chris Dalitz & Chris Jones

ABOUT PRESENTATION 1

By Chris Jones, National Secretary at Australian Electric Vehicle Association

Dr Chris Jones is the national secretary of the Australian Electric Vehicle Association, and chair of the WA branch. The AEVA is a volunteer-run, not-for-profit organisation dedicated to promoting electrified mobility since 1973. Chris has been with the AEVA since about 2010 when he first realised electric vehicles were the only way he could be self-sufficient with energy for transport. In 2011 he built and raced an electric motorbike and in 2014 built a faster bike piloted by someone who could actually ride. His bike Voltron went on to dominate the eFXC series in 2014-2016. Chris has converted a car to electric and currently drives a Hyundai Ioniq EV.

Presentation 1

EVs will make up half of all new vehicle sales by 2030, and by 2050, the whole vehicle fleet will be electric. Our EVs will be charged with sunshine in the middle of the day, which stabilises the electricity grid and eliminates the need for extra generation to match evening demand. Australia should stop relying on imported liquid fossil fuels and power our own industry, transport and lives with locally produced electricity, the vast majority of which will come from the elements.entering the system. The desirable attributes of a future grid incorporating electric vehicles will also be discussed.

ABOUT PRESENTATIONS 2 & 3

By Chris Dalitz, Electrical Safety Manager at Essential Energy (Dubbo, NSW)

Mr Chris Dalitz has over 42 years’ experience in the Electricity Supply Industry in NSW, commencing as a Cadet Engineer with Sydney County Council in January 1978. Chris currently works with Essential Energy at Dubbo, NSW with the title of Electrical Safety Manager.

Chris has a lifelong interest in Electric Vehicles, having done his undergraduate thesis on a DC Chopper for an Electric car at UNSW in 1981. He has driven and ridden in many EV’s over the decades. Chris purchased his first personal EV, a Mitsubishi i-MiEV in April 2013 and in February 2019 changed to a Tesla Model S. Chris is an active member of the Australian Electric Vehicle Association (AEVA), the Tesla Owners Club of Australia (TOCA), founder of the Dubbo Electric Vehicle Interest Owners Users and Supporters (DEVIOUS) and a member of Standards Australia committee EM001 – Electric Mobility representing Engineers Australia.

Presentation 2

A short presentation by Chris Dalitz (Essential Energy) on “Dynamic Load Connection for EV Fast Chargers”. Essential Energy is currently undertaking an innovative trial with one of Australia’s leading EV Charging network operators whereby network capacity is dynamically shared with other customers based on ‘real time’ monitoring of the connected loads and available capacity to maximise asset utilisation.

Presentation 3

A short presentation by Chris Dalitz (EV Owner) on owning and operating an EV in Regional Australia. Chris has owned an EV since 2013 and in this presentation will address the perceptions that EV’s are only suited to the city – but furthermore – emphasise some of the advantages of EV for rural and regional living where the annual distances travelled are greater than average, improving not only the Total Cost of Ownership (TOC) of an EV, but also the driver experience.

Electric Vehicles and the Grid: International developments in sustainable energy and transport
14 July 2020 - Graham Town

SYNOPSIS

Significant synergies between electrified transport and electricity generation and supply systems that have been recognised for 20 years or more are now being realised in many trials around the world.

This presentation will review international developments in grid integration of electric vehicles. Whilst electric vehicles present some challenges through increased demand, and other challenges inherent in providing both transport and energy services from a single platform, electric vehicles can also have a significant positive impact on the electricity grid, e.g. in providing storage for peak management and for managing the increasing proportion of renewable and distributed generation entering the system. The desirable attributes of a future grid incorporating electric vehicles will also be discussed.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Graham Town is an electrical engineer with 8 years experience in the Australian electronics industry (AWA Pty Ltd), and 30 years experience in engineering education and research. He received a BE (Hons 1) in Electrical Engineering from NSWIT (now UTS) in 1984, a PhD in medical imaging from the University of Sydney in 1992, and a Graduate Certificate in Leadership and Management (Higher Education) from Macquarie University in 2007.

Graham is currently an Honorary Professor with the School of Engineering at Macquarie University, where he established Macquarie University's undergraduate engineering program, first offered in 2004. His research and teaching have been in diverse areas including medical imaging, optical fibre communications and sensing technology, and engineering education. Since 2012 he has been focussing on industry-supported research on energy conversion and management, including solar-powered waste-to-energy conversion, compact and efficient power electronic converters and inverters, and future-grids with a focus on energy management and grid integration of electric vehicles.

Graham is a Senior Member of the IEEE, and a Fellow of Engineers Australia.

Tribute Power Station Failure – Protection Aspects
7 July 2020 - Sam Keeling

SYNOPSIS

Tribute hydroelectric power station suffered a major winding failure on 24th August 2019. This failure caused significant damage to the alternator and resulted in a forced outage of 3½ months for fault investigation and repair. The station was commissioned in 1995 and is comprised of a single underground 13.8kV, 92MVA rated generating unit.

Following on from Mr Marc Ransome’s presentation focusing on the primary system and fault investigation (https://www.eesa.org.au/member-resources/event-recordings); this presentation will provide a brief introduction to the protection scheme at Tribute and the importance of a fast acting and reliable protection scheme. It will introduce fault characteristics typical for winding failures and those pertaining to this particular failure, and detail how fault investigation contributed not only to the identification of root-cause for this failure, but plays a key role in the continuous improvement and quality assurance process for Hydro Tasmania’s protection portfolio.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Sam Keeling, Hydro Tasmania

Sam is a Specialist Electrical Engineer with Hydro Tasmania. Whilst he works across all Primary and Secondary Electrical portfolios, Sam’s background has had a particular focus toward Electrical Protection Systems with the development of Hydro Tasmania’s protection standard model design, standards and portfolio implementation strategy.

SA Power Networks – creating the network of the future
2 July 2020 - Brendon Hampton

SYNOPSIS

Learn how SA Power Networks is responding to the challenges and opportunities presented by the world’s highest penetration of distributed solar PV, the rise of virtual power plants, the increasing impact of storms and the oldest assets in the national electricity market. Topics include:

• The role of automation in improving reliability performance
• The capabilities required to enable the distributed energy transition
• Vision for the future of the SA’s energy system

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Brendon Hampton, Manager Network Strategy, SA Power Networks

Brendon is responsible for facilitation and oversight of long-term strategy to ensure that network safety, reliability, risk and levels of service adapt to changing environmental factors, and SA Power Networks continues to deliver increased value to stakeholders.

A key focus is facilitating the development SA Power Networks’ strategic capabilities required to transition to the new energy future – ensuring we can continue to provide a safe, secure, efficient and reliable distribution network as our industry continues its dramatic transition from centralised generation to one dominated by customer-owned distributed energy resources.

Digital Innovation in Energy
24 June 2020 - Struan Buchanan and Matt Townrow

SYNOPSIS

From generation to consumption, every aspect of the energy value chain is facing unprecedented change and disruption. Shifts in technology and consumer behaviour are driving change at almost every level, creating problems that need to be solved and opportunities that can be seized. Businesses that understand the increasingly digital environment and how to harness it for innovation, will emerge as the winners.

Join a panel of industry innovators and Deloitte experts for a session covering what innovation means, how to innovate to capture value through digital, and deep dives into live examples of digital innovation in our rapidly changing sector.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Struan Buchanan - Monitor Deloitte, National Strategy Consulting Lead Partner for Energy and Resources

Struan is Deloitte’s National Strategy Consulting Lead Partner for Energy and Resources. He has over 20 years of experience with public and private asset-intensive clients across Australia and North America, primarily in the energy and water sectors. He works with business leaders to develop and deliver strategies and business models that leverage digital innovation to increase resilience, adaptability and sustained value.

Matt Townrow - Flexibility Services Lead for Origin Energy

Matt has helped lead the advancement of Origin’s Demand Response offering for C&I and build a strong pipeline and portfolio of customers using this service. Matt works at the intersect of product development, sales, analytics, trading and engineering, actively bringing these parties together to launch new energy solutions. Through this experience, Matt has developed an appreciation and learnings for the critical role engineering and technical capabilities can play throughout the product innovation and development lifecycle. Prior to joining Origin, Matt was the Director of Global Sales for GreenSync.

Australia’s hydrogen advantage – a roadmap
18 June 2020 - Mark G Jackson

SYNOPSIS

Hydrogen production presents an exciting opportunity to store and transport renewable energy over long distances. This presentation will talk about how “green” hydrogen can be can be produced in ways that support the expansion of renewables, and then how the hydrogen is and can be applied to help reduce emissions in a wide range of industries. This will build on the first H2 roadmap developed by the South Australian Government, as well as the more recent federal and CSIRO reports.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Mark G Jackson, Director / Project Manager / Electrical Engineer at Mark G Jackson Consulting

Mark is the founder of Mark G Jackson Consulting, a Chartered Professional Engineer (CPEng) with Engineers Australia, and is a member of a wide range of other professional associations including EESA, AIPM, CIGRE, IEEE and PMI.

Mark has worked for more than twenty years as a Manager and Engineer and has extensive experience in the fields of power and energy (in particular wind and renewable hydrogen), heavy industry and defence aviation specialising in program and project management, construction and commissioning management, operational engineering and logistics management, detailed engineering design development and documentation.

For more than the last decade, Mark has worked almost exclusively in the power and energy space, particularly focussing on the development, construction and commissioning of renewable generation (wind) and its associated grid connection and transmission network infrastructure.

Mark has increased his skill set through formalising his extensive contract management experience through the achievement of a Masters of Construction Law in 2019.

Mark has previously worked for Sinclair Knight Merz (seven years) and the Department of Defence (Army and Defence Material Organisation) (fourteen years).

Successfully Managing Change in the Electric Energy Industry
16 June 2020 - Jeff Allen

SYNOPSIS

Jeff Allen has been involved in many different roles in the electric energy area for over 50 years. He has seen many changes – and he is of the view that these changes are continuing at an even faster pace. He believes that it is essential for engineers to understand all the changes that are occurring (be they technical, market, management or customer) and adjust their knowledge, attitude and overall approach in order to be successful in the “new business environment.”

He will talk about his “early days” as an engineer where he saw the introduction of the internet (yes the internet!), personal computers and mobile phones as well as “Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition” that all assisted in improving the control and operation of the electricity distribution network as well as collecting data and turning this into information to improve the overall management of network assets.

Having been involved in a number of major network events such as the Auckland Power Failure (assisting with the Government Inquiry) and the 2009 Kilmore East - Kinglake Fire court case (as a shadow expert witness), he has seen how relatively simple errors/oversights can result in causing a significant event with major impacts on everyone associated with the event.

He will discuss why engineers need to understand the all the details of their area of expertise as well as the “big picture” overview of the changes that are occurring and the impact of these changes on the transmission and distribution system so that they can successfully make the transition to this much more complicated world.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Jeff Allen, National President at the Electric Energy Society of Australia

Jeff completed a degree in Electrical Engineering from Sydney University in 1967 and has undertaken many professional development activities and formal technical and management training courses during his career.

As well as many engineering roles, he has held a number of executive positions in various companies. These roles include CEO, GM Networks and GM Network Services at Integral (now Endeavour) Energy, CEO of Energy Auctions (now Energy Action Ltd), CEO of AK Power Solutions (now part of Insulect) and Director Client Services at EMS Solutions. He has also consulted widely in Australia and New Zealand in the areas of network regulatory and pricing submissions, best practice asset management, engineering consulting, business process re-engineering, procurement best practice and culture change management.

He has held a number of board positions with various companies for varying periods over the past 22 years. In addition to the above roles, he has held a number of “industry committee” positions.

Jeff joined the Electricity Supply Engineers Association of NSW (the predecessor organisation to EESA) in 1977. He joined Engineers Australia as a member in 1983 and became a Fellow of Engineers Australia in 1994.

AEMO’s Renewable Integration Study (RIS)
28 May 2020 - Barry O'Connell and Chris Davies

SYNOPSIS

Renewable Integration Study

The Renewable Integration Study (RIS) is the first stage of a multi-year plan to maintain system security in a future National Electricity Market (NEM) with a high share of renewable resources. This presentation will discuss the findings and recommendations which reflect both AEMO’s day-to-day experience operating the NEM power system, and the results of extensive RIS modelling and analysis.

Also covered will be the challenges in the short term, to 2025, of maintaining power system security while operating this resource mix at very high instantaneous penetrations^[1] of wind and solar generation, including recommendations and actions needed to keep operating the NEM securely, now and as the power system transitions.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Barry O'Connell – Principal Engineer, Future Energy Systems at AEMO.

Barry is leading AEMO’s Renewable Integration Study (RIS) – a multi-year plan to support a secure and reliable NEM with a high penetration of renewables. The study is focussed on quantifying the renewable penetration limits of the power system for a projected generation mix and network configuration in 2025 and recommending actions to break down the barriers to higher penetrations.

Chris Davies - Manager, Future Energy Systems at AEMO.

Chris is responsible for AEMO’s Future Energy Systems team, whose core function is to identify and communicate emerging power system limits as the generation mix changes. The remit of the team includes addressing how these limits can be alleviated, including reviewing technical requirements, standards and the technical specification of system services.

The Future Energy Systems team’s major focus is currently the delivery of AEMO’s Renewable Integration Study (RIS) – the first stage of a multi-year plan to support a secure and reliable NEM with a high share of renewables. The study is focussed on quantifying the technical renewable penetration limits of the power system for a projected generation mix and network configuration in 2025.

Barker Inlet Power Station Project
27 May 2020 - Brad Pfeiffer and Kevin Andersen

SYNOPSIS

Barker Inlet Power Station is AGL Energy’s $295 million investment to develop a 210 MW reciprocating engine power station sitting alongside the Torrens Island Power Station site near Port Adelaide.

The Barker Inlet Power Station comprises 12 reciprocating engines capable of generating approximately 18 MW of output each. The engines operate at high efficiency and with a lower heat rate than other forms of fast-start plants currently available. The station also has the capability of operating at full capacity within five minutes, providing a rapid response to changes in renewable generation supply.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Brad Pfeiffer, Barker Inlet Power Station Integration Manager

Currently employed by AGL, Brad has over 30 years’ experience in the South Australian generation industry having previously been employed by ETSA, TXU, Singapore Power and TRUenergy. Most of Brad’s career has been spent based at the Torrens Island Power Station where he has held various roles in management, engineering, asset and project management. He previously managed over a number of years the upgrade of the instrumentation and control systems on all eight Units at Torrens with modern distributed control systems in a central control room. Most recently on the Barker Inlet Power Station project, Brad managed a broad portfolio associated with readying the processes, systems and personnel at Torrens for operation and maintenance of the new plant.

Kevin Andersen, Project Manager, Barker Inlet Power Station

Currently employed by AGL, Kevin has over 35 years’ experience in the South Australian generation industry having previously been employed by the same companies as Brad above.

Kevin started his working life as an electrician and then studied to achieve his electrical Engineering degree. With many years working in each area of the power station from maintenance, operations engineer/manager, projects and Asset Engineering this has given him a broad experience. Recently completing the build of the Barker Inlet Power Station where Kevin assisted the Project director in the building of BIPS and connection to the grid and facility interfaces.

The importance of HV Earthing Systems
20 May 2020 - Bill Tocher and Chris Shaw

SYNOPSIS

High Voltage power systems have the potential to cause harm to utility workers and the public from fault events which, although unlikely, are not completely preventable. The earthing system of a substation or transmission line is a key component of operational reliability and becomes crucial for personnel safety and equipment protection during faults. Join us for a clear and helpful presentation of the standards applicable in Australia and the fundamental operating principles of earthing systems.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Bill Tocher is Engineering Director at Safearth. As well as being an engaging presenter, his expertise in earthing and lightning protection systems traverses all industries and states of Australia. He has performed audits, designs, corrosion & electrolysis coordination studies, commissioning testing and failure & shock investigations, and contributed to Australian & international standards.

Chris Shaw is a Principal Engineer and the New Business Manager at Safearth. He has been designing, testing, commissioning, and auditing high voltage earthing systems since he joined Safearth in 2007. He has provided solutions for power utilities, thermal & hydro generators, mines, road tunnels, and rail expansion projects across Australia and in many states of America.

Fundamentals Series - High Voltage Cable Insulation
29 April 2020 - John Lansley

SYNOPSIS

Welcome to the EESA Qld Chapter's "Fundamental Series". The aim of these presentations is to help up-and-coming engineers build a solid practical knowledge foundation and for the more experienced, it's a great refresher and CPD opportunity. In this presentation, we will be discussing the electrical properties of High Voltage Cable Insulation and the various types that have been used. It will examine typical failure mechanisms associated with cable insulation, and what condition monitoring tests are most effective to determine cable condition.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

John Lansley is the Manager Substation Standards at Energy Queensland. After starting as a graduate engineer at SEQEB in 1989, John has worked in Metering, Substation Plant, Underground Transmission Design & Construction and Engineering Standards prior to his current role. He has been a member of the CIGRE B1 Australian Panel on insulated cables for 10 years and is looking forward to imparting his wealth of knowledge in relation to HV cable insulation.