By Mike Hyland

Executive Director, NEPPA

I started working at the Philadelphia Electric Company (PECO) in 1983 as a Drexel University cooperative student in Electrical Engineering. During my first 6-month stint at PECO, I was fortunate to be assigned to a witty engineering manager named Tom DiNardo. Mr. DiNardo was smart, knew the lay of the land in the industry, and I was sucking up his knowledge like a sponge. One day we were discussing the need to replace all the PCB filled capacitors throughout the PECO system - and I was confused about the old school 2/3rds rule for the placement of the new non-PCB capacitors. It was at that time when Mr. DiNardo made it quite clear - power engineering is not rocket science. He went on to explain that if an engineering student who was studying power engineering could actually pass the difficult classes to graduate as a rocket scientist - he or she would certainly go become a rocket scientist and save him or herself from the boring career of electric utilities.

As I travelled throughout my career - those words always echoed- ‘Hyland, this isn’t rocket science!’

(Now, in all honesty I must admit, power engineering does reside somewhere close to the bottom of the food chain when you evaluate engineering academics. The smarter students tend to seek careers in Chemical, Materials, or Bio-medical Engineering.)

It wasn’t until about 5 years ago I finally began to think differently. At an APPA conference I was listening to Arlen Orchard, former CEO of SMUD and he explained to the audience that the power system was indeed rocket science.

I sought out Arlen to question him after he came off the stage and Arlen explained that two things made him reach this conclusion. One - he was a lawyer and engineering principles were somewhat foreign to him. Two - the electrical power system of today is vastly different than the one I studied in the early to mid-1980’s. So, after giving it some thought, I decided that he was right - the average person - even someone as smart as the CEO of a top five municipality - might feel that the thorough understanding of the electric power system - generation though toaster, SCADA through AMI, and EV charging through ground source heat pumps - is exactly that, rocket science.

But that doesn’t stop those with limited knowledge of this rocket science to propose their wishes onto this power system, a system so complex that the National Academies of Engineering labeled the electrification of the United States as the number one innovation of the 20th century. The desires of how the power system should operate in the future, including what generation is desired vs what generation is actually accessible, creates a futuristic electrical system that is lofty in its goals, yet during certain times impossible to deliver. I enjoy reading the studies that indicate we need more solar and wind to decrease our carbon emissions, and I’m definitely one who sees the merits of electrification. Heck, prior to my employment at NEPPA I managed a solar and EV program at a large cooperative utility. But as I study the grid, I would expand the scope of welcomed additional generation to include small scale nuclear reactors (SMR’s).

The first weekend of February 2023 was quite the frigid affair here in New England. Like many, I enjoy a good winter season. The climate in New England is one of the reasons I moved back after spending 26 years in the mid-Atlantic. But I must admit that minus 25 degrees is a little over kill for my aging bones. Broken water pipes, frozen door locks and frostbite within minutes isn’t my preferred cup of tea. But we power system wonks also tend to worry about the power system when we experience brutal cold snaps and long-term heat waves. I’m a DOUG, it's what we do. (DOUG = Dumb Old Utility Guy.) DOUG’s tend to be engineers. We also tend to be realists. So, I pulled out my laptop to check on the grid and see what the status was as temperatures plummeted.

My wife asked me to explain why I was sitting on my computer looking at the ISO New England website when it was negative degrees outside. She asked – ‘shouldn’t we be under a blanket staying warm, snacking on a bowl of popcorn and watching some binge worthy cable show?’ I didn’t respond but thought to my self – this is it! This is my ‘Rocket Science’ moment! How can I explain to a pediatric oncology nurse the complex Power System that was running flat out on over 85 percent Nuclear, Oil, Coal and Natural Gas generation to keep us warm in our New Hampshire townhouse?

I learned quickly as I began to speak to her, as much as you dumb down the theoretical - much of my explanation came across as rocket science. Why? Because Arlen was right - it is!

We have a long way to go in our electrification journey to combat climate issues. But at the same time - we need to be realists and honest when addressing the facts that surround this journey. From where I stand - the glass isn’t half empty (that’s a pessimist); nor is it half full (that’s an optimist); in my opinion the glass is simply twice the size it needs to be for the liquid that it holds (that’s a realist. That’s a DOUG).

Let’s get real in our understanding of this complex system, and make decisions based on facts, science, and an honest and open discussion. This won’t be easy, its rocket science after all.

Sincerely,

-Mike

Executive Director

NEPPA

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Energy Connect Conference (formerly Customer Service Conf)*

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Basic Electricity and Mathematics for Utility Operations*

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Energy: DOE proposes new energy efficiency standards for distribution transformers; FERC Commissioner Willie Phillips is named acting chair; FERC directs NERC to develop reliability standards for monitoring internal network systems...

Congress: Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is elected Speaker of the House for the 118th Congress...

Infrastructure: The FBI sends a memo to utilities on recent shootings and physical attacks on electric grid infrastructure...

Scholarship applications are currently being accepted for NEPPA's NEW Student Scholarship Fund. Submit today to be considered for one of the limited scholarships available!

·    One ($500) Scholarship directed at students currently enrolled in college or trade school program during 2023 program year.

·    One ($500) Scholarship directed at students who are seniors in high school during the 2023 school year, recipients should be enrolling in college or trade school program upon HS graduation

and email to scholarship@neppa.org or mail to

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Applications must be submitted by March 31, 2023 to be considered. Awardees will be notified by the Scholarships Committee. If you have any questions, please email scholarship@neppa.org.

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