Archive for April, 2008

The 2008 IEEE PES T&D Expo is history now.

The very first Show Blog is history too. I picked up some new nick-names along the way too. I have been called the “Blogger,” the “Bloggist,” the “Bloggster,” and my favorite the “Blogmeister.” I have never worked so hard at a PES T&D Expo, but I have never had so much fun either. I met a lot of old friends and made a lot of new ones. My head aches with all I have learned. Now it is time to switch from the past; it was fun, but it is over. We have to start thinking ahead to New Orleans in 2010. I talked with Tommy Mayne about 2010. I even got a couple of stories (something about King Cakes and spin the bottle), which I can’t repeat here and a string of Mardi Gras beads. He is in high gear, moving like a Tasmanian devil, a whirlwind, and he is stirring everyone up for the 2010 IEEE PES T&D Expo. With Tommy involved, I know we are going to get “lagniappe” (something extra) for our show. He and his team have a lot of work to do and not much time to get it done. As Tommy always says to me, “Laissez les bon temps rouler!” (Let the good times roll!)

Well friends as the song says, “the party’s over - it’s time to call it a day.”

Pam and I are back in the high desert of New Mexico. We had coffee this morning and talked about all the exciting things we encountered in Chicago (the Greater Chicago area has almost 6 times the population as the entire state of New Mexico), so it was very different. We took advantage of all this area had to offer with its museums, shopping, dining, and shows. It was everything we had hope and planned for in the weeks prior to the trip. Pam is back at work on her quilt designs – she has a business to run. I too have neglected my business “Lone Wolf Engineering,” but not really. You have to recharge your mind and spirit in order to give your company, or in my case my clients a fresh viewpoint and an excited attitude. I learned so much at the 2008 PES T&D Expo. My notepad was always at hand as I talked with the Exhibitors. I have a much better understanding of the many new technologies of the Smart Grid, made a lot of new friends who will explain how their products work and how I can apply them to my engineering projects. It was great embracing civilization and all of its benefits, but we hunger for the solitude of the wilderness and hiking in the “high-country” too. Happy Trails!

The 2008 PES Expo is over, the gate is closed, everyhting is packed up, and everyone has gone back home.

A new conference is taking place in the hotels we vacated. The last figure I heard on attendance was over 13,500 and I’m sure it went higher. We had roughly 700 exhibitors from around the world at this PES Expo. I also heard more than 50 companies took part in the student job fair. There were over 200 poster sessions too. By any standards, this was a major event for the electric utility industry in both education and displaying the technologies of the intelligent grid. Tommy Mayne and his team have already started the work to make the 2010 PES T&D Expo even better. New Orleans is ready for us; we have to get ready for it. Tommy assures me the coffee is better down south too. You’ll find me at Café Du Monde with that marvelous French Roast and Chicory (not to mention the platter of beignets). As they say down south – “All ya all come visit now!”

Did H.G. Wells come to Chicago? I found this creature as I walked about the streets of Chicago. Anyone know what this is? Is it one of the Martians from War of the Worlds? I’ll tell in the last blog. Send me your guess.

I ran into a couple of old friends at the Areva Exhibit. Neil and Chris have worked with me for years on the HVDC and FACTS Subcommittee. They are experts in the Power Electronics field. We had been talking about the HVDC Cross Channel link when Gene made an inappropriate remark about the color of the shirts. Pam reacted just as I took the photo. It sure was fun visiting together.

Pam reported the companions had an enjoyable conference. PES had a companion room in McCormack Place for them to meet and eat. Breakfast was served every morning (not a heavy one thank you). There were tours and activities to keep everyone happy and busy.

I think I walked 5 or 6 miles a day during the Expo. The McCormick Place is one of the biggest conference centers I think I have ever been in. The exhibit floor was huge and there were 5 or 6 levels for all the papers, panels, and sessions. When my friend Mark Zeller at Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories offered me a chance to sit down and discuss the smart grid I took it. We talked about phasor monitors, sensors, real time monitoring of protection systems, micro-processors, and just watched the crowd walk by.

One more model and then I’ll move on. Toshiba had a series of underground substation models on display. They were both GIS and Oil filled. It is amazing the lengths utilities have to go to meet their customer’s needs. Everyone wants electricity, but they don’t want the infrastructure showing. Personally I think substations are works of art, but manufacturers such as Toshiba have met the challenge by developed some pretty amazing applications for the technology.

I never knew how many of my friends were photographers until I walked the Expo floor with my Nikon hung around my neck. It is eye catching with the flash unit, and 18mm to 200mm lens. I use it in my consulting work a lot, so it has to be versatile, but it attracts attention. John Estey had a lot of questions about the lens. He is considering purchasing one, so we had a great time comparing notes. That is another benefit of attending the PES Expo. Along with the education, I get to visit with lots of old friends. We catch up with what is going on in our lives and find out new things about each other, which brings us closer.

Did you see all the models on the floor? The Hyundai exhibit included some very cool models of equipment way to big to bring into the exhibit floor. I had tried to get photos of them, but the crowds were so thick taking photos didn’t work very well. Yesterday morning I was on the floor about 8AM taking photos of everything I could not during the show before the crowds. Yep folks, PES gave me the run of the place and I took advantage of it. Of course I met a lot of the security guards this way. I might add they were very nice folks too. After they checked my credentials, they told me to have a nice day and sent me on my way.