Dr. AP “Sakis” Meliopoulos hosted the 2024 Georgia Tech Protective Relay Conference from April 24-27. The three-day event provided a forum for leading engineers, technicians, consultants and other stakeholders in the power grid protection industry to discuss the latest advancements in the field.
In power grids, protective relays act as smart circuit breakers, constantly monitoring for dangerous conditions and tripping specific sections to isolate faults. This critical function in the power grid protection industry ensures the safe and reliable operation of large electrical networks.
The conference took an in-depth look at specific areas of current research and development in protective relays. In the morning session, leading scientists and engineers in this field presented the results of their research over the past year on specific problem areas, followed by a short Q&A session.
“The planning committee and I review all submitted research papers and decide what will be featured at the conference. Last year, about 100 papers were submitted, but only 40 of them were accepted for the program. After presentation, all paper authors are awarded a certificate,” Meliopoulos said.
Multiple research papers focus on addressing the growth of sustainable development in the industry, particularly in the form of distributed power generation systems. Distributed generation refers to the use of small, renewable sources of electricity generation located closer to the points of consumption. As communities develop more sustainable forms of energy generation and consumption, many are adopting this as a solution, building small solar farms and hydroelectric dams that provide electricity to their communities. These innovations provide electricity to the grid with different electrical profiles and characteristics, creating unprecedented challenges for grid engineers.
The institute’s Power Systems Control and Automation Laboratory (PSCAL), led by Meliopoulos, is one of the nation’s leaders in automated power system control research and is exploring solutions to this challenge. One of the institute’s flagship projects, “Autonomous, Adaptive, and Secure Distribution Protection,” aims to better protect electric grids that draw power from distributed generation systems.
Meliopolous’ master’s students were able to participate in and drive the program, seeing first-hand that their research is one of the most visionary topics in the industry.
“Most of the work we do [at PSCAL] “Our major is Protective Power Systems and this conference is the hub for it,” said Syed Afroz, a second-year MS ECE student. “We meet many industry professionals and get insight into how the industry operates. We get to see how theoretical knowledge is applied in practical terms. … We get to network with many luminaries in the industry and share our knowledge and experience on common industry issues and application of solutions.”
Grid cyber security is another key area in which the industry is evolving: According to the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), the U.S. power grid is becoming increasingly vulnerable to cyber attacks, with the number of vulnerable access points in the power network growing by approximately 60 per day.
In addition to running the conference, Meliopoulos oversees a variety of the institute's leading research, academic and professional programs related to electrical systems. Last year, Meliopoulos received the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Power and Energy Society Outstanding Power Engineering Educator Award in recognition of his contributions to power systems education in protection, control and operations.
“Georgia Tech has a very strong program in protection and control and cybersecurity. [this industry] It's computer based. All the relays are built into the computer system, so if someone tries to attack the power system, we know that's where the attack will start. In fact, we have a center [at the Institute] This is a system that monitors cyber attacks on the power system. [of attacks] “Every month. So people are constantly working on it. Professional organizations like IEEE are constantly developing new security standards for utility companies. At the same time, governments are developing regulations to meet these standards,” Meliopoulos said.
Meliopoulos serves as the administrator, developer and professor of two key educational programs in Electric Grid Protection and Control for the Institute's Professional Education Division (GTPE), educating industry professionals on the latest standards, strategies and technologies prevalent in their fields. According to its 2022 Impact Report, GTPE enrolled more than 100,000 professionals in its programs in 2022.
“I am the academic administrator for the Power Systems Certificate Program. [GTPE] We also have an electrical and computer engineering department, which is designed for practicing engineers. These courses are typically three- or four-day intensives on the subject. There is a series of courses throughout the year, and students can receive a certificate upon completion.”
Meliopolous, along with other faculty, continually develops courses to educate professional engineers on technological developments and their applications in the power grid protection industry.
“For example, we have courses that teach what goes on in a control center, which is where power systems are typically operated and monitored. Control center systems are updated frequently, so engineers come to learn new industry standards that utilities introduce. We also have courses on protection and control, power quality, grounding, and power electronics. These courses cover what ECE students learn here, but are designed with the assumption that engineers already understand the basics,” Meliopoulos says.
He also leads several master’s programs in the field, providing engineers the opportunity to build expertise in specific areas within electrical systems that apply to modern industry standards.
“In addition, we have an online program where students can earn a master's degree in cybersecurity for electrical energy systems, which is also run by the professional education department, but unlike the certificate program, it runs on a semester basis. The program has 10 courses, and I teach two of them, which are courses that I developed,” Meliopoulos said.
The 2024 Georgia Tech Protective Relay Conference will discuss the critical role protective relays play in ensuring a safe and reliable grid, further strengthening the Institute’s leading position in power systems research and education.
