Ethical Arguement: Smart Grid

Background:

To begin the ethical discussion on the smart grid, I will first explain "the grid". "The grid" is the system of transmission line and substations that transport power from generation stations to homes, businesses, and industry. A smart grid allows a power utility to view how power is being consumed by a consumer and the ability to change that power consumption. The idea of the smart grid has arisen as a solution to the current grid becoming stressed and less reliable.

The Unethicality:
I believe the idea of a smart power grid should be abandoned due to ethical implications, and other avenues of solutions should be considered to alleviate the stressed grid. When a consumer pays for electricity they have used, they are also expecting the power to be there when they want to use it. A power utility should not be allowed to shut off a consumer's dryer, with their only reasoning being the power could be better used elsewhere. Not only would they be able to turn off the consumer's dryer, they could dim the lights stop the electric car from charging or shutoff the cell phone charger without any permission from the consumer.

Possible Solutions:
There are other solutions to the aging stressed power grid. The EPA could lessen restrictions on coal fire power plants. With the coal deposits in the United States, we could continue to maintain the current grid until a more permanent and reasonable solution was found. A permanent solution to the current problem would occur if the United States would finally embrace nuclear power. Although nuclear power has had a somewhat dark history, the safety of nuclear power has been greatly improved in the last two decades. Nuclear power would free us of our dependency of fossil fuels and help to provide power security for future generations.

News Analysis

Background:
I recently read an article by Matt Egan of Fox Business News. The article describes the discusses the possibility that another major blackout could occur even after the changes made since the 2003 Blackout. The 2003 Blackout is considered the worst blackout in United States history effecting 50 million people and costing 4-10 billion dollars. the root cause of the blackout was due to an overgrown tree causing a fault on a transmission line, and human error. Once the line was out of service a cascading effect occurred taking three 345kV lines, a coal fire plant, and nuclear plant all out of service in about 9 seconds.

Government Involvement:
Shortly after the blackout FERC (Federal Energy Reliability Committee) appointed NERC (North American Electric Reliability Committee) to regulate power utilities to prevent further incidents. NERC's involvement has been quite successful, since 2003 there have been very few major disturbances in the nation's power grid. Although, with increasing severe weather patterns and the rise of cyber terror attacks we could be heading down a rocky road.

Analysis of the Article:
I found the author of this article to be quite credible. When explaining the power grid and related information, the author frequently relies on Massoud Amin, a professor from the University of Minnesota in electrical engineering. In matters of National Security from cyber attacks on the grid, the author uses Frank Cilluffo, former Homeland Security adviser during the Bush administration, and James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence. while analyzing the articles content I found the author made a fairly logical argument in determining the probability of a major power disturbance, and only struck a little emotional content when talking about cyber terrorism, which could be used to evoke a small amount of fear.

Source:http://www.foxbusiness.com/government/2013/08/15/10-years-later-could-epic-blackout-happen-again/

A Review of The Remington Model 700 EtronX

Background:
In standard rifles a firing pin is used to strike the primer on the bottom of a cartridge, when the trigger is pulled. The primer ignites the powder contained in the cartridge which projects the bullet out of the gun to its target. The firing pin uses a spring which is loaded when the firearms action is operated and discharges when the trigger is pulled. Firearms have used this method to fire since the Civil War.




EtronX:
The Remington Model 700 EtronX is a bolt-action rifle, which uses an advanced method to fire a projectile. Rather than the standard spring loaded firing pin, the EtronX replace the firing pin with an electrical contact. Along with special primers, the EtronX fires projectiles using a 9V battery. When the trigger is pulled the circuit is completed causing an electric charge to ignite the powder.

Advantages:
The EtronX has many advantages over it's standard counterpart.

• Less trigger pull because their is no spring to trip.
• According to Remington a round is ignited 2.7 millionths of a second after the trigger is pulled.
• Minimized effect of barrel movement after the trigger is pulled.
• An LED indicating the safety status and battery status.

Disadvantages:
The EtronX has one major disadvantage compared to a standard rifle.

• The rifle is useless when the 9V battery is dead.

The battery is easily replaced by removing two screws from the butt plate where  the battery is housed, minimizing the inconvenience of having a battery.

Looking at both the advantages and disadvantages, the EtronX is a technological improvement to a tried a true method of firing projectiles. I suggest anyone interested in firearms try this rifle for yourself.

An Explanation of My Field

What Is Power System Engineering:
The Field I am entering is Power System Engineering, which is a discipline of Electrical Engineering. People that work in this field design and upgrade the current power grid in order to keep power supplied to all of its customers. This is done by designing new transmission lines and substations (seen above),which are hubs that multiple transmission lines enter and exit to direct power flow, and adding them to the power grid. Power System Engineers also design power plants which create electricity. They use fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas to heat water, which spins large turbines to generate electricity. Lately there has been a large focus on green power which Power Engineering also uses in creating a stable power grid. Some examples of green power are wind turbines, solar energy, waste heat recovery, and hydroelectric power from dams.

What Does Power System Engineering Entail:
As a Power Systems Engineer I am most interested in power system protection. This involves designing systems that keep transmission lines from carrying to much power, so they do not loose life span or fail. The reason protecting transmission lines is so important is because they are expensive. During an internship, my supervisor told me that a new 345000 volt line, which is fairly a fairly common sized line, cost about a million dollars a mile in materials and labor to erect. Others in Power System engineering are interested in load forecasting (determining where demand for power will increase), system planning (determining where new transmission lines and substation should be place to supply demand), compliance (insuring the power grid follows all of the standards implemented by the North American Electricity Reliability Committee), and design of the transmission lines and substations themselves. There are many more areas of work in Power System Engineering, I have only explained a few of them.

Values and Ethical Implications:
In 2003 there was a large blackout in the northeast and millions of electricity consumers lost power. This occurred because many generation and transmission companies were trying to maintain the power grid at minimum costs without regards for reliability. Since the blackout, the federal government has implemented many regulations, which has steered the industry in the direction of cost efficiency and less cost efficiency. Thanks to these regulations, the power grid has become noticeably more stable.

Ethics is an important part to Electrical Engineers. People all over the world use our products and expect them to be safe and well made. As Power System Engineers we strive to deliver efficient reliable power to as many people as possible. We try to accomplish this while minimizing cost to ensure electricity is inexpensive to the consumer. Without us peoples' lights would not turn on, wall outlets would not work, phones could not be charged, computers would not work, and most of the products they buy could not be made without the electricity we supply. Life would be very different without the work of Power System Engineers.