Protection & Control Seminar
27th Annual Beckwith Electric Protection & Control Seminar
St. Pete Beach, Florida
Monday, July 29, 2024 – Thursday, August 1, 2024
The four-day Protection & Control Seminar encompasses comprehensive discussions on safeguarding power plant assets and managing medium-voltage distribution systems. This event is a hub for education, collaboration, and networking, delving into the intricate technical facets of protection and control strategies.
The seminar is divided into two program tracks, Power Plant Protection and Distribution Protection & Control, with the following mission critical topics.
Power Plant Protection Track
- Generator Protection (IEEE C37.102)
- Fault Fundamentals
- Generator Protection Calculations & Settings
- Transformer Protection (IEEE C37.91)
- Transformer Protection Calculations & Settings
- Power Quality for Industrial Applications
- Motor Bus Transfer
- Event Analysis Case Studies
- Hands-on Testing Lab Breakout Sessions (Generation & Transformer Protection)
Distribution Protection & Control Track
- Distribution Feeder Protection & Control (IEEE C37.230)
- Feeder Protection Calculations & Settings
- Distribution Automation: FLISR
- Distributed Energy Resources Operation, Control & Protection (IEEE 1547)
- Transformer Protection (IEEE C37.91)
- Transformer, Regulator, and Capacitor Controls
- Distribution System Optimization: VVO/CVR
- Power Quality for Utility Applications
- Cybersecurity
- Hands-on Testing Lab Breakout Sessions (Distribution Feeder/Recloser Protection & Transformer Protection)
Countdown to the 2024 Seminar!
Day(s)
:
Hour(s)
:
Minute(s)
:
Second(s)
Each participant will receive daily breakfast and lunch plus the opportunity to interact with our knowledgeable instructors in a casual classroom environment and at evening receptions. Participant interaction is encouraged to gain from the shared experiences of others. Opportunities to discuss needs-based case studies and examples will be available throughout the seminar.
- Earn CEUs or PDHs: Earn up to 2.6 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) or 26 Professional Development Hours (PDHs). The Protection Seminar provides CEUs through IEEE.
- Hands-on Testing Lab Breakout Sessions: Learn skills required to test and commission Beckwith relays for generator, transformer, and distribution feeder/recloser control protection.
- Hospitality & Demo Expo: Beckwith Electric and Special Guests will host a reception for a time of networking and information sharing including food and drinks.
Who should attend?
The seminar is designed for engineers, consultants, managers, and technicians at utilities, integrators, packagers and OEMs, as well as others who design, engineer, maintain and test protective systems, voltage/VAR control systems, and FLISR schemes. Relay technicians, and those responsible for testing and commissioning are encouraged to attend our Testing Lab Breakout Sessions.
- The Power Plant Protection Track would benefit those involved with protection of power plant assets in both utility, cogeneration, and heavy industrial environments, as well as those looking for a deeper background on the subject.
- The Distribution Protection & Control Track is designed for those who need a comprehensive understanding of the protection and control of medium-voltage, utility-type distribution systems, including solutions for the challenges due to the high penetration of Distributed Energy Resources (DER).
Seminar Cost
- $1,420 per person by Friday, July 5, 2024, 5 PM EST.
- 12% group discount for 2+ attendees from the same organization.
- The seminar fee does not include hotel accommodations or transportation.
Generator Protection
In the Power Plant Protection Track:
Follows IEEE C37.102 (Guide for AC Generator Protection)
- Generators are subject to internal faults, external faults and abnormal operating conditions impressed by the turbine and excitation system issues, as well as power system events the generator has no control over but must cope with. False (nuisance) trips are costly as the generators output is lost. Inability to trip due to lack of sensitivity, lack of certain protections or deficiencies in protection application may cause severe damage to generators, resulting in prolonged outage and revenue loss, plus increased system instability risk. Achieving the ideal balance of secure and dependable protection involves use of an array of elements that protect the generator for all operating modes: off-line, start up, synchronizing, various levels of power output and when challenged by system faults and anomalies.
- Ground faults in generator stator and field/rotor circuits can lead to damage, costly repair, extended outage and loss of revenue plus these faults are becoming more common as the generators age and the insulation degrades.
- Low level ground faults can quickly evolve into multiphase faults, even near the neutral. Learn how to securely decrease ground fault protection time delays.
- Low level external faults can cause false trips on differential protection. Find out how to use ratios of RMS vs. Fundamental to maintain security.
- You can measure rotor to ground impedance and alarm before you have to trip the generator. See how an injection based rotor ground fault system can be applied on brushed and brushless generators.
- You can use load encroachment blinders on phase fault back up elements to help better discriminate between load and systems faults.
- Subharmonic injection is a sure-fire method to detect ground faults under all operating and loading conditions. Find out how using the real component for fault detection makes the system secure yet extremity sensitive.
Transformer Protection
In both the Power Plant Protection and Distribution Protection & Control Track:
Follows IEEE C37.91 (Guide for Protecting Power Transformers)
- Ground faults near the neutral or on impedance grounded transformers are difficult to detect with phase differential. Learn how the use of ground differential protection increases sensitivity and security.
- CT remanence is a leading cause of differential element misoperation. Explore how to use an IEEE calculator and use dual slope characteristics to mitigate the effects of CT remanent flux.
- Newer transformers may not exhibit sufficient quantity of 2nd harmonic for restraint of the differential element when energizing. See how the use of 2nd and 4th harmonics for inrush detection enhances reliability during energizing.
- Possible overexcitation is not exclusively a generating plant transformer issue. Learn the causes of damaging overexcitation from the Utility T&D and how to effectively protect against them.
- Overexcitation can cause false differential operation and most relays employ differential element blocking when faced with 5th harmonic. Explore why that can lead to a reliability issue and how to mitigate with adaptive restraint. An adaptive technique to increase reliability of the differential element during overexcitation will be illustrated.
Feeder Protection
In the Distribution Protection & Controls Track:
Follows IEEE C37.230 (Guide for Protective Relay Applications to Distribution Lines)
- Coordination principles based on industry standard practices
- Distribution protection in the presence of feeder reconfiguration
- Communication Assisted Tripping for Networked Feeders
- Latest industry trends using advanced power quality indices
Controls
In the Distribution Protection & Controls Track:
Transformer, Regulator, and Capacitor Controls
Distribution System Optimization: VVO/CVR Issues and Answers On-line load tapchangers are a key component for controlling voltage at transmission and distribution levels. They are also a key element of IVVC, VVO and CVR application. Schemes and applications for operation, alarming, runback, reliability centered maintenance, paralleling and coordination with capacitors are addressed.
DER/DG Protection
In the Distribution Protection & Controls Track:
This technical session provides a background into DER operation and associated protection and control considerations for conventional and inverter-based power sources. We will review types of DER/DG and the modes in which they can operate in parallel with the distribution system. Key aspects of IEEE 1547 and a sample DER interconnection screening process are highlighted. Details of on-site standby power system conversion to operate in parallel with the distribution system are shown. Protection methodology at the point-of-common coupling (PCC) and point-of-interconnection (PI) is explored for all types of DER. A treatment of distribution system protection and control considerations and applications with DER is discussed, including addressing the impact of IEEE 1547A.
Motor Bus Transfer
In the Power Plant Protection Track:
Motor Bus Transfer (MBT) is the process of rapidly transferring sources to a motor bus for planned source switching and unplanned source failure. The rapid transfer allows the process to continue without interruption. To avoid damage to the motors, specialized equipment and methods are employed to cope with the dynamics of motor deceleration, and voltage and phase angle change between the new source and the motor bus. Improper reconnection of the motor bus can cause cumulative or immediate damage to the motors, and result in a process crash.
Hands-on Testing Lab Breakout Sessions
Protection and control systems play a key role for the safe and reliable operation of today’s electricity power systems. The complexity of multifunction digital protection presents considerable challenges to those responsible for testing and commissioning these devices. These hands-on sessions are designed for individuals who are not required to learn complex setting equations, but want a solid understanding of proper test procedures.
The following will be included in the Hands-on Testing Lab Breakout Sessions at the Protection & Control Seminar:
- Learn skills required to test and commission Beckwith relays for generator, transformer, and distribution feeder/recloser control protection.
- Gain familiarity with the operating principles of Beckwith relays and controls.
- Hands-on experience with Beckwith IPSCom to assist in the testing process.
- Register early as seats will be limited!
Earn CEUs or PDHs
If you are a licensed engineer or maintain a professional license issued by a society, an association, an occupational licensing board or a department of professional regulation within your state, you may be eligible to earn Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for your participation in the Protection & Control Seminar. The seminar provides Continuing Education Units (CEUs) through IEEE. The IEEE maintains an official registry of all CEUs awarded. This makes accounting to state licensing boards an easier task for our seminar participants.
One CEU is equal to ten contact hours of instruction in a continuing education activity. Many states require Professional Development Hours (PDHs) to maintain P.E. licensure, encouraging engineers to seek CEUs for their participation in Continuing Education Programs. IEEE CEUs readily translate into PDHs (1 CEU = 10 PDHs).
- Power Plant Protection Track = Earn up to 2.6 CEUs or 26 PDHs.
- Distribution Protection & Control Track = Earn up to 2.6 CEUs or 26 PDHs.