AS: Well I’d love to upgrade all of our 69 kV to 115 kV, and much of the 115 kV to 230 kV; while I’m at it, I’ll take the 230 kV to 500 kV and add some “green” distributed generation.
Actually though, I feel like I have a limitless budget, or at least a sufficient budget. OUC is very committed to doing what it takes to maintain reliability, and the budget for that is basically set bottom up. There are many problems and constraints you run into trying to maintain and improve a transmission grid, but budget (at least at OUC) is not one of them.
UAE: What was the most difficult project you’ve tackled at OUC? AS: Well, I’ve only been with OUC a year, but I’d have to say the FCCS study was the biggest project I have ever participated in. It was a joint study between many utilities in Florida, and, from start to finish, took over a year. At one point during the study, there where 10 planners from across the state sequestered in the FRCC offices in Tampa for a month, working long days to find the best solutions to the region-wide transmission problems. But, that month in Tampa was the easy part; the hard part was then convincing the companies involved to work together and come to agreement on who would build what lines and by when. It was a lot of meetings, a lot of analysis, and a lot of negotiation.
AS: Well, right now, I have one and a half employees, but we have an opening, so soon it will be two and a half.
There are many characteristics that good engineers and good employees have. Good task management, structured thinking, technical knowledge— all of these are common characteristics
in my opinion. Assuming you start with someone who is already a good engineer and a good employee, the biggest personality trait for a planner at OUC that will effect their success is interpersonal skills.
You have to build relationships and trust with certain people and groups inside your company and with the planners and management at your neighboring utilities. With the people inside your company, they have to trust you and have confidence it what you are doing, because much of it looks like you are
just using a Magic 8 Ball to come up with answers. With the planners at the other utilities, you have to be able to communicate and work together, even if politically your companies are in the midst of a dispute over transmission projects. So being able to build and maintain those relationships and lines of communication are critical to being successful.
UAE: Florida’s Public Service Commission ranks OUC ahead of Florida’s investor-owned utilities in reliability. And, last November, PA Consulting Group named OUC the most reliable electric utility in the Southeast. What’s your secret? What are you doing better than the other guys?
AS: While my title is manager of transmission planning and reliability, the reliability I focus on is bulk power system reliability which is interested in the grid remaining online and stable. The “ reliability” that the FPSC and others look at is usually what I call “retail” reliability and relates to keeping customers lit. I cannot really comment on the technical aspects of what OUC does to keep the lights on, but I can comment on the culture. At OUC it is common to ask “what should we do” rather then “what is the least expensive solution.” With this type of culture the only challenges to building a reliable power system are the technical ones.
UAE: What words of wisdom would you give to other public power engineers in your position about how to make the job run smoothly? AS: My advice would be to build good relationships with all the people and departments your group works with. I work closely with our department’s secretary, and that relationship greatly reduces the administrative burden on our group. We tell her what we want to do—or in some cases what we’ve already done—and she figures out the paperwork, procedures and administrative details. It keeps us focused on the work rather then trying to puzzle out paperwork for expense reimbursement and travel arrangements. This same idea applies to our design engineering group, information technology and system operators. These are groups and individuals who can make our life easier, or make it much more difficult. Building good relationships with these groups can make all the difference in how much time is spent dealing with bureaucracy and how much is spent getting productive work done. ❮❮
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