descriptionThe entire planning process of the electric energy industry has shifted. Electric utilities are the power innovators, integrating new technologies and renewables onto the system while prioritizing reliability and regulatory compliance. You won’t want to miss this opportunity to work together with RMEL’s diverse member-ship (representing all diff erent types of electric utilities) to collectively address the power industry’s biggest transmission challenges. The conference is structured with presentations and also two roundtable sessions that give attendees time to discuss what’s keeping you up at night and put everything from the con-ference together in a unique and tangible way. This isn’t just a set of topics, but an interactive forum that allows you to benchmark your organization and continue to drive your company and the industry forward.

Who should attendTransmission planners, management and senior management, engineers, consultants, regulators and project managers involved in planning, building, operating and maintaining transmission systems. Individuals with other backgrounds are also welcome to learn about the issues in this section. This conference is an excellent source for gaining knowledge on current industry issues utilities are most concerned with.

Continuing education Certifi catesAll attendees will receive a continuing education certifi cate worth 9.0 Professional Development Hours (PDHs) by RMEL, upon completion of the course. RMEL serves a large territory in which attendees participate in a number of accrediting organizations, each with their own requirements. Depending on the certifying body you are affi liated with, RMEL PDHs may be applied towards your recertifi cation credit. Use the event brochure, and agenda to determine how the content applies to your certifi cation. The at-tendee is also responsible for verifying how the quantity of RMEL PDHs convert to your certifying body credits. Typically 1.0 PDH is equal to .1 CEU, but you should always verify the conversion scale.

daTe, Time, loCaTionmarch 18-19, 2020

march 18 - Conference and roundtable8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

march 19 - Conference and roundtable8:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

doubleTree by Hilton Hotel denver Tech Center

7801 E Orchard Rd, Greenwood Village, CO 80111

Phone: (303) 779-6161Web Site:

https://secure3.hilton.com/en_US/dt/reservation/book.htm?execution=e1s1

reservationsUse the link above for room reservations at the

DoubleTree Denver Tech Center. A special room rate is available when you mention RMEL. The reservation

deadline to receive this rate is february 25, 2020.

You must mention you are making your reservation as part of the rmel room block when calling the hotel.

By not doing so, you may be incorrectly told that the hotel is full or quoted a diff erent room rate. If the contracted room block is not met, RMEL is fi nancially

liable for penalties.

government employees: If you are making your reservation at the federal government rate please be sure to mention you are part of RMEL so you will be

counted towards the room block.

PLANNING AND OPERATIONS CONFERENCE

Collectively address the Biggest

Transmission Challenges With

rmel members

BRING ROUNDTABLE TOPICSYou can also send topics ahead of time to

jamessakamoto@rmel.org.

PRELIMINARY TOPICSWednesday,march 18, 20207:30-8:00 a.m. networking Breakfast

8:00-8:30 a.m. Welcome and introductions

8:30-9:15 a.m. Case study – integration of solar and storage at the Transmission level Sam Ley, PE, Director of Engineering, AES Distributed EnergyIn 2016, AES DE and the Kauai Island Utility Coopera-tive undertook to build the world’s largest combined solar and lithium ion battery storage project in the world. In this presentation we will describe the challenges faced by the cooperative as they transition toward 100% renewable penetration, the solutions we arrived at, and the results of the last 12 months of operation.

Included will be data demonstrating 24 hours of useful activity from a 5-hour duration battery system, from frequency response and regulation, to spinning reserve and capacity release. We hope to leave you with a broader idea of what is possible with storage and inspire creativity in the use of dispatchable assets to benefi t an entire grid.

9:15-10:00 a.m. voltage droop Control in Power flow solutionsSaurav Mohapatra, Senior Software Engineer, Powerworld CorporationIn steady state power fl ow models, renewable genera-tion plants (like solar and wind) are often modeled as multiple generators linked

to a point of interconnection (POI) through a network of equivalent feeders and transformers. In a real power system, a plant like this is setup to collectively regulate the voltage at the POI by fol-lowing a Q-V characteristic curve that varies the reactive power arriving at the POI as a function of voltage at the POI. However, traditional power fl ow software did not have a way to model this type of voltage control, as generators could only be confi gured to have a voltage set-point. In the summer of 2019, PowerWorld Simulator version 21 introduced a new software feature, termed as Voltage Droop Control, which now allows this type of control to be modeled in power fl ow solutions. While this behavior has been mod-eled in transient stability software for many years, it is a new concept in steady state power fl ow solutions.

This presentation will go through the need for having a Voltage Droop Control algorithm in a power fl ow solution, and explain how it overcomes the limitations of a traditional generator software model. Examples will be discussed to show how this feature allows for voltage droops and a voltage dead-band to be incorporated into steady state voltage regulation. It will include a demonstration to illustrate how the reactive power output of a renewable plant (i.e., a group of gen-erators) can proportionately adjust to varying voltage conditions, and ultimately better simulate the actual operation of these plants.

10:00-10:15 a.m. networking Break

10:15-11:00 a.m. advanced Transmission line design Tools for an as-Building solutionLandon Schulze, President, ASEC, Inc. Gokul Narayanan, Program Manager, ASEC, Inc. The need to accurately model transmission and distribution infrastructure has increased over the last decade due to the issuance of various NERC Facility Ratings Alerts, the increased use of High Temperature Low Sag conductors, and the high threat of wildfi res due to vegetation fl ashovers. Investor Owned Utilities, Coops, and Public Power Systems across the country and throughout the world are battling ever so increas-ingly to keep up with the demands of their customers while safeguarding the operational reliability of their transmission and distribu-tion line assets. To do this eff ectively, utilities have moved towards routinely and periodically procuring post construction survey on trans-mission and distribution lines to guarantee the installed conditions of the assets meet the requirements and intent of the design. ASEC has developed advanced PLS CADD modeling procedures for determining whether or not the installed conditions fall within the tolerances of construction and design parameters, and ultimately meet all minimum code and utility requirements. ASEC will present on the need for as-builts and ultimately the value they give utility shareholders.

11:00-11:45 a.m. voltage Control for distribution Connected generationJim Whitaker, Supervisor Power System Studies, TRCAs Distribution Connected Generation (DG) penetration grows, voltage control and the impacts on customers and the transmission system have or will become and issue. This presentation will show the advantages of active voltage control for DG versus fi xed power factor.

11:45-1:00 p.m. networking lunch

1:00-1:45 p.m. High voltage Cable Terminations – What to Know!Kate Thompson, Cable Accessories Product Specialist, G&W Electric CompanySince the fi rst paper cable circuit installation in 1936, over 4,000 miles of paper cable have been installed in the United States. To complete the circuits, cable accessories were developed by various manufacturers throughout history. While the cable is designed for a lifespan of over 100 years, the accessories are not. In this presentation, the follow-ing topics are covered:• Identify symptoms of aging terminations • Review maintenance tech-niques to extend the life of the accessories • Discuss proactive measures to protect your system from an unplanned outage

1:45-2:30 p.m. Wild fire mitigation PlanningBrian Long, PE, Rotational Position Asset Management, Xcel EnergyThis presentation will focus on items to consider with

TRANSMISSION PLANNING AND OPERATIONS CONFERENCE Collectively address the Biggest Transmission

Challenges With rmel members

respect to preparing for potential issues dealing with Wild Fire Risk on the Trans-mission Systems. Topics dis-cussed will include Learnings from Bench marking with other utilities, Wild fi re Risk Area Determination, High Priority Defect Mitigation, System Inspections, Winds Strength review of exiting circuits, Aging Infrastructure and System Hardening Con-siderations.

2:30-2:45 p.m. networking Break

2:45-3:00 p.m. attendee announcements

3:00-4:30 p.m. roundtable discussion

Thursday,march 19, 20207:30-8:00 a.m. networking Breakfast

8:00-8:45 a.m. using Helical Piles for Transmission line structure foundations John Dunn, Almita PilingSaif Mohamed, Almita PilingThis presentation will educate on helical pile deep foundation technology, as applied to various transmis-sion and distribution struc-tures. Solutions for lattice towers, monopoles, direct embed structures and sub-stations will be addressed. Helical pile engineering design criteria will be re-viewed, as well as corrosion mitigation, load testing and pull testing for design proof and optimization. Construc-tion methodology, including environmental and rapid installation advantages to be highlighted along with specifi c electric power proj-

The RMEL Transmission Committee plans all RMEL Transmission events. If you’d like to send information to the committee, email

James Sakamoto at jamessakamoto@rmel.org.

Thank You rmel Transmission Committee

CHairangela Piner

VPHDR, Inc.

viCe CHairana Bustamante

Director, T&D EngineeringUNS Energy Corporation

scott BayerDirector, Transmission &

Substation Engineering and Construction Austin Energy

Jedd fischerRetail Business ManagerNebraska Public Power

District

Keith nixVP, Technical Services and

System ReliabilityTexas New Mexico Power

mike PfeisterManager of Scheduling &

Reliability ServicesSRP

Chris PinkTri-State Generation & Trans-

mission AssociationTechnical Services and Bulk

Systems Planning Mgr.

John QuintanaTransmission Asset

Maintenance ManagerWestern Area Power

Administration

ect examples. Question and answer period to follow.

8:45-9:45 a.m. How utilities are utilizing uas for T-line inspections and substationsMatt Dunlevy, President & CEO, SkySkopesUAS are undeniably chang-ing the world and it appears fi rst with utilities. Many utili-ties across the United States have already adopted the use of drones in their inspec-tions of transmission lines, substations, and other types of assets. This presentation will cover the waterfront of how UAS are being used to collect data in the energy sector with sensors such as LiDAR, FLIR, and with manu-facturers such as DJI.

9:45-10:00 a.m. networking Break

10:00-10:45 a.m. ug T-lines: installation Considerations Eric Cosgrove, Black & VeatchAs more obstacles are being encountered for typical over-head construction methods, underground transmission is becoming more common. Underground transmission has diff erent installation con-siderations and constraints that can aff ect construction and system operations. This presentation will provide a brief overview of under-ground transmission lines and common applications. We will then describe the basic rating and operations considerations for under-ground transmission, instal-lation methods and impacts to construction and system operation from the installa-tion methods.

10:45-11:30 a.m. roundtable and Wrap up discussion

Transmission Planning and oPeraTions ConferenCe regisTraTion Your Personal Member ID#: __________________________________________ Name: _____________________________________________________________________

No Member ID? No Problem. Please provide the following instead:

First Name: __________________________________________________ Last Name: ________________________________________________

Title: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Company Name: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Company Address: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________

City: _________________________________________________________________________

State: _____________________________ Zip: ___________________________________

Phone: ______________________________________________________________________

Fax: _____________________________________________________________________________

Email: ___________________________________________________________________________

HoW To regisTeronline Register at www.RMEL.org

PHone Call RMEL at (303) 865-5544

faX your form to (303) 865-5548

mail Send form and payment to RMEL

6855 S. Havana St, Ste 430 ~ Centennial, CO 80112 www.RMEL.org

Transmission Planning and operations Conference - march 18-19Registration Includes: Breakfast, breaks, lunch, training, course materials, attendee roster and, upon course completion, a continuing education certificate.

Member full conference (includes roundtable) .............................................$395 **Student Member full conference (includes roundtable) .........................$197 Non-RMEL member full conference meeting ................................................$695

Payment Check (RMEL; 6855 S. Havana St, Ste 430; Centennial, CO 80112)

Visa Master Card or American Express

Card#: ____________________________________________________________ Exp. Date: __________________________________

Signature: _____________________________________________________________________________________________

** To receive the student rate, you must be a full-time student at an RMEL member university. All student registrations must be faxed or called in, and a copy of your student ID and full-time class schedule are required.

Cancellation Policy: Fees are refundable if cancellation is received on or before 5 p.m. on March 8, 2020. If cancellation is received after that date, half of the registration fee will be refunded. Payments will be processed for those who do not attend or do not cancel by 5 p.m. the day before the event. To have someone take your place, please notify RMEL anytime before the event.

rmel | 6855 s. Havana sT, suiTe 430 | CenTennial, Co 80112 | (303) 865-5544 | faX: (303) 865-5548 | WWW.rmel.org