Free Tech Seminar in 31st Annual Western Protective Relay Conference

- In conjunction with the 31st Annual Western Protective Relay Conference (WPRC) in Spokane, Washington (October 19-21), Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc. (SEL) presents its 20th Annual Technical Seminar free of charge on October 18, 2004.

The SEL technical seminar complements the conference by providing engineers from around the world with information and solutions they can apply immediately to improve power system protection, monitoring, control, automation, and metering. Translators speaking Mandarin, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Greek, and Arabic will be available at the SEL Technical Seminar during question and answer sessions.

The Western Protective Relay Conference is an annual event held at the International Agriculture Trade Center in downtown Spokane, Washington. It is an educational forum for the presentation and discussion of broad and detailed technical aspects of protective relaying and related subjects. Approximately 450 attend, mostly from the Western U.S.

This forum allows participants to learn and apply advanced technologies that prevent electrical power failures. Speakers are invited to present papers selected by a group of protective relaying experts. The conference is ideal for relay technicians, consulting engineers, protective relay engineers, switchgear and switchboard manufacturers, public and private utility directors and managers, researchers, faculty, and students.

There is also a manufacturing exposition, where relay manufacturers, relay test equipment manufacturers, and SCADA communication manufacturers display their latest technology developed for control, protection, metering, and SCADA applications. Engineers from many utilities in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, as well as engineers from other parts of the world, such as China, Australia, and South America are expected to attend.

This year, the conference will present 40 papers from utilities and suppliers. SEL will present 15 papers at the conference:

o Zero-Setting Power Swing Blocking Protection o Local and Wide Area Network Protection Systems Improve Power System Reliability o Practical Single-Pole-Trip Line-Protection Scheme Considerations o Steady-State Protection Study for the Application of Series Capacitors in the Empangeni 400 kV Network o Impedance-Based Fault Location Experience o Evaluation of Methods for Breaker Flashover Protection o Securing Sequence Current Differential Elements o Methods for Securing Relay Communications o Reliable Busbar and Breaker Failure Protection With Advanced Zone Selection o How to Use Current Differential Relaying Over Digital Phone Lines o Implementation of an Unconventional Undervoltage Load-Shedding Scheme o Comparing Motor Thermal Models o Stanford University, Palou Substation Modernization Project o Use of Directional Elements at the Utility-Industrial Interface o High-Speed Distribution Protection Made Easy SEL is also inviting attendees to visit their hospitality lab to see and learn about their latest equipment in the Doubletree Hotel, Spokane Falls Suites A&B on October 18-20 from 5:00-10:00 p.m. Experts will be on hand to answer product, application, and operation questions.

Finally, SEL is hosting an open house and factory tour on October 21, from 7-9 p.m. at the SEL facility in Pullman, Washington. Round-trip transportation is provided to SEL, 80 miles south of Spokane.

Register for the SEL seminar and other WPRC related SEL activities on the SEL website: http://www.selinc.com/events/WPRC2004/index.html.

Register for WPRC at to http://www.capps.wsu.edu/wprc/. Registration fees are: $295 (by September 24) and $345 (after September 24).