What’s Evolving: Learnings from the Latest IEEE PSRC Committee Meeting

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is one of the largest technical professional organizations in the world, and each year they host a multitude of conferences, seminars, and committee meetings, giving subject matter experts a unique opportunity to discuss industry trends and map out what is next for the future of energy.

The IEEE is organized into subcommittees, which are then further structured into working groups. One such committee is the Power System Relaying and Control Committee (PSRC), which is largely focused on several domains including the design, testing, and operation of power system protection and control, including line protection, relaying communications and control, rotating machinery protection, and substation protection (see sections 4.1.7, 4.1.8, and 4.1.9). In my role as Chair of Working Group (WG) H47, I collaborate with industry peers on power system relaying and substation protection matters. Additionally, there are relaying communications and control subcommittees that I actively participate in, and further resources can be found here.

Last month, the IEEE PSRC committee meeting hosted 257 attendees for an in-person event, with a large focus on defining international standards and recommended cybersecurity practices. These standards are the tools and guidelines in place to support the strategy and management of the energy industry at an international level. Every ten years, these industry standards outlined by the IEEE expire, but it’s important to note that the documentation and development process takes years, and you can’t sprint a marathon. The process is incredibly rigorous to ensure a thorough, unbiased approach. Each document and standard is peer-reviewed and balloted, in addition to being comprehensively evaluated at each stage. And as is typical with events such as these, there was no shortage of debate.

The IEEE is commonly regarded as being more North American-focused, with the IEC more heavily representing Europe. But collaboration is becoming more harmonized than ever before. The IEEE and IEC are working in partnership with other regions and working groups to adopt their respective standards or to develop standards in tandem, which also helps to avoid duplications.

With a global energy shift upon us, grid reliability, better sustainability, the integration of renewables, digitalization, and innovation in technology are becoming growing topics of interest. Reaching net zero without affecting grid reliability, for instance, will require new modeling, updated systems, and leading expertise. This expertise is always in full force at IEEE working sessions, beyond what the knowledge base, work, and experience that I see within our industry every day. As a result, it is no surprise that digitalization was also on the agenda. I attended an interesting session on cyber-informed engineering and how it’s evolving the energy landscape. With growing technological advancements, there is a heightened need for sophisticated engineering practices to secure digital infrastructure.

Future-proofing our power systems and networks – by means of updated standards and practices, as well as enhanced, more secure products and services – should be the top priority as we build the grid of the future. Stay tuned for my next series of blogs where I explore the topic of software-defined systems and how it’s shaping the industry.