Events

On the evening of November 15, 2023, IEEE PES Seattle organized an event titled “Preparing the Power Grid for Extreme Weather Events: Resilience Modeling and Optimization.” Held in-person and virtual, the event aimed to address the growing concerns surrounding the impact of extreme weather events on power delivery infrastructure and discuss strategies to enhance the resilience of the power grid. The speaker was Dr. Anamika Dubey of Washington State University.

Extreme weather events threaten the power delivery infrastructure causing an extended disruption of electricity supply to the critical services. Most impacts are observed at the mid and low voltage distribution systems due to inadequate incorporation of resilience at the distribution level. Fortunately, recent advances in the distribution grid, including the integration of distributed generation and distribution automation capabilities, provide potential means to improve system resilience if applied in a purposeful and methodical manner. The changing nature of the grid and extreme weather events motivate new mechanisms to manage grid operations by leveraging smart grid technologies. This talk will introduce the approach to model and quantify the impacts of extreme weather events on the power grid and discuss planning and operational solutions to improve the power systems resilience.

The weather was great, over 80F. Attendance for the tour was 37. The Spark Museum CEO, John Jenkins led our group to various sections of the Museum. Mr. Jenkins had himself procured many of the one of kind artifacts and gave us the history of the pieces and how they were obtained.

The tour started at 12:00 noon at the Visitor Center where we received a safety briefing from Ivan Snavely.  We loaded into the USBR vans and headed to the Banks Lake Headworks, Crown Point viewing area, 3rd Powerhouse and top of the dam.

This meeting was the first of many meetings to be held to support the Seattle 2024 General Meeting to be held in Seattle.  Attendance at the GM meeting is expected to be around 3000.  This team, the LOC, Local Organizing Committee will help develop speakers, tours, technical talks and support the Plenary session and student events.

IEEE PES Seattle Bellingham’s Spark Museum Tour. The Spark Museum of Electrical Invention offers an exciting and educational experience for audiences of all ages. Compelling, interactive exhibits spanning four centuries of scientific achievement and cultural heritage are featured in a world-class collection of unique objects. The Spark Museum displays the inventions and innovations that changed the course of human history.

Grand Coulee Dam Tour – Friday Sept 15, 2023. The tour will start at 12:00 noon at the Visitor Center where we will receive a safety briefing.  We will then get into USBR vans and head to the Banks Lake Headworks, BPA 230kV&500kV yards, Crown Point viewing area, 3rd Powerhouse and top of dam. Then back to the vans and visitor center by 4:30.

The IEEE PES Seattle Section held an open planning meeting to discuss and strategize support for the IEEE General Meeting (GM) scheduled to take place in Seattle from July 21 to July 25, 2024. This significant event marks the first time in over two decades that Seattle has been selected as the host city for an IEEE General Meeting.

With the United States’ ambitious renewable energy goals, the demand for large-scale (>20MW) generator interconnection (GI) services has increased significantly, leading to longer interconnection queues and longer wait times for developers. Understanding how large-scale projects are studied in the interconnection process is crucial for developers, policy makers, and other stakeholders involved in the renewable energy sector.

You are being invited to a meeting to discuss and help plan for an IEEE General Meeting, GM, in Seattle scheduled for July 21-25, 2024. Seattle has not had a GM in over 20 years. This meeting is an open meeting, and anyone can attend. The mailing for this meeting of about 20 people was developed from those who responded to recent announcements and emails to members about the 2024 Seattle GM.