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.