Modern Substations Live Online Forum
Today’s Smart Substations
Digitalization, Protection, and Automation
Live Online Event Hosted By Electricity Today T&D Magazine.
This Electricity Today Magazine Live Online Forum highlights how modern substations are becoming smarter and more resilient through digital technologies. Today’s smart substations use advanced protection, real time monitoring, and intelligent automation to improve safety, reliability, and overall grid performance.
Designed for utility engineers, substation operators, and industry professionals, this free event offers 45 minute, non commercial technical presentations that explore digitalization, condition monitoring, and emerging technologies shaping the future of substation operations.
You do not need to attend live. Simply register and you will receive a recording link and presentation PDF for on demand learning.
Agenda
45 minutes presentation includes 10 minutes of Q&A.
1:00 pm - 1:45 pm ET
Intellirent
Digital protective relays for power transformers have evolved significantly over the past decades, bringing both reliability and stability in protecting these very expensive and critical assets. Software technology associated with digital relays offers engineers and technicians a means to easily set and configure these devices, and aid in the testing process. Even though these tools exist, many field technicians still experience misoperation during the commissioning process due to setting errors. In this session, we will go behind the scenes of transformer protective relays to understand how the transformer nameplate can dictate the relay settings, and how the wrong interpretation can cause bad settings. Since most relay testing software helps to automate the testing process, not all transformer relays use the same technologies, so we will investigate as examples, the SEL-787 and Beckwith M-3311. We will also go behind the scenes of automated relay testing to understand how the testing process functions.
1:45 pm - 2:30 pm ET
Critter Guard
Squirrels are more dangerous than Cyber Hackers!
Squirrels and other “critters” are actually the #1 cause of preventable power outages for utilities. And yes… it could easily happen to you.
This presentation will discuss Critter Guard's approach to animal mitigation and why this is serious business for utilities.
2:30 pm - 3:15 pm ET
Doble
Legacy to Vision: The Centralized Protection Timeline
Centralized protection and control (CPC) architectures have been considered for several decades as a means to simplify substation design. This presentation provides an overview of the technological developments that have enabled this concept, summarizes key findings from research initiatives and field implementations, and outlines the principal challenges that continue to impede broader adoption. It also examines the prospective role of virtualization in shaping future protection, automation, and control (PAC) system architectures.
3:15 pm - 4:00 pm ET
Zensol
Vibroacoustic : A Rapid Diagnostic Approach for On-Load Tap Changers
On-Load Tap Changers (OLTCs) are essential to transformer operation, yet studies show that 40–50% of transformer failures are linked to tap changers, many caused by mechanical issues.
But how can utilities detect problems early before they lead to failures?
In this session, Dr. Fouad Brikci from Zensol will introduce vibro-acoustic diagnostics, a fast and intuitive way to assess the mechanical condition of OLTCs. By analyzing the vibration signatures generated during tap changer operations, engineers can gain valuable insight into what is happening inside the equipment.
Presenters
Drew Welton
Vice President of Business and Technical Development
Intellirent
Drew Welton (IEEE Senior) is Vice President of Business and Technical Development, leading strategic growth initiatives by identifying new business opportunities, forging partnerships, and overseeing the development and implementation of technical solutions. This role bridges the gap between business strategy and technical execution, ensuring that technology investments align with overall business goals. Welton was previously the Vice President of Sales and Technical Services for Beckwith Electric, and North American Regional Manager for OMICRON electronics, starting in 1997. Prior to his career with OMICRON, Welton was a Regional Sales Manager with Beckwith Electric, and served as National Sales Director for Substation Automation with AREVA T&D. Welton has written numerous articles on substation maintenance testing and has conducted training sessions for substation technicians and engineers at utilities and universities across North America. He is a 30-year Senior Member of IEEE PES, IAS, and an active member of the Transformers Committee. He was the 2022 recipient of NETA’s Alliance Partner Award for outstanding contributions and has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Fort Lewis College, Durango, Colorado.
John Sims
President
Critter Guard
John Sims has over 40 years of experience in engineering, product development and sales management in industrial and utility markets. A veteran of energy storage systems (i.e. batteries), process controls, and materials science, John has hands-on experience in over 50 countries worldwide. John gained his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He is the owner of MAJRS Holdings, LLC based in Mulvane, KS. MAJRS Holdings is the owner of Critter Guard (www.critterguard.org), a plastics products manufacturer of animal prevention products for utilities and homeowners.
Jose Ruiz
Application Engineer
Doble Engineering
Jose Ruiz earned his Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 2012. He began his career at ABB in 2011, where he served as a Protection Application Engineer. In 2016, Jose joined Doble Engineering as an Application Engineer. He currently works with Doble’s Protection Solutions team, contributing to the development of innovative hardware and software technologies. Jose is a Senior Member of IEEE. He is also involved with CIGRE Subcommittees D2 and B5. Passionate about knowledge sharing, Jose frequently presents on IEC 61850-based protection applications and solutions.
Fouad Brikci, Ph.D.
President
Zensol Automation Inc.
Fouad Brikci obtained a Doctorate in Electronics in 1977 and a master’s degree in Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Automation in 1975 both from the University of Bordeaux, France. During his 40 years and more of experience, he was a lecturer at the Ecole Polytechnique inmAlgiers, Algeria and a researcher at CNRS-LAAS, Toulouse, France. Moreover, he has mainly developed his skills in electronics, automation, and industrial computing. Fouad Brikci was the first to introduce the concept of computer-aided testing in the extremely noisy environment of high-voltage substations in 1992. Among his many accomplishments, he has designed test systems for the research and development (R&D) laboratories of power companies such as Hydro-Quebec and for large manufacturers of high voltage circuit breakers for their R&D laboratories, quality control departments and maintenance services. He is currently the President of Zensol Automation, Inc., a company founded in 1990 and located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Zensol is a world leader in the field of acoustic diagnostics for circuit breakers and on-line tap changers (OLTC). Zensol also has extensive expertise in conventional maintenance testing applied to high-voltage circuit breakers and transformers.
