EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT
Engineer Gerry Callison was featured in the Jackson Citizen Patriot recently. He won an award at the Michigan State Housing Development Authority's 2010 Emerging Cities Summit for an essay he submitted about moving to Jackson and received an overnight stay at the Westin Book Cadillac in Detroit as a prize. Congratulations, Gerry!
Link to MLIVE Article
CONFERENCES AND TRADE SHOWS
Time is short, and everyone is busy. But, we’re always eager to spend time talking to you about your projects and how we can help you complete them successfully. So, we travel the country attending the conferences that you do--both to see where you need help and to keep up on the latest developments in the industry ourselves. You might even see us presenting a seminar or serving on a panel to share our expertise.
Conferences and trade shows offer great value for the money spent. You gain valuable technical knowledge that will enhance your professional opportunities, receive needed educational credits, and learn more about the consultants and vendors that can help you achieve your project goals. Check this page regularly to see where we’ll be next.
What we’re doing…
Stephen S. Miller, P.E., TRANSMISSION 2000® Section Manager at Commonwealth Associates, Inc. and Senior Member of IEEE has written an article titled Extending Traditional Planning Methods to Evaluate the Potential for Cascading Failures in Electric Power Grids. A method of extending traditional planning methods and tools to evaluate the potential for cascading failures in electric power grids is presented. By expanding on traditional transmission planning and reliability analysis methods, a study technique that produces reasonable and verifiable assessments of electric grid vulnerability to widespread blackout is possible. To read the article in its entirety, please click on the following link.
Link to PDF Article
Where we’re going…
Commonwealth Associates, Inc. will attend the 58th Annual Fall Conference of the Michigan Association of Airport Executives that will take place September 13–17, 2010, at Shanty Creek Resort in Bellaire, Michigan. This conference, which is attended by airport managers, Federal Aviation Administration and State Bureau of Aeronautics representatives, service providers, airport engineers, and consultants, provides a platform for the discussion of problems and solutions currently confronting Michigan airports.
Where we’ve been..
Recently, the Northwest Public Power Association (NWPPA) held its 70th Annual Conference and Membership Meeting in Sacramento, California. The May 26, 2010, event was attended by John White, who accepted a Plaque of Appreciation on behalf of Commonwealth Associates, Inc. The award, which honors associate member organizations, is given for extraordinary service to the Association and the utility industry.
Link to PDF Article
Increasing Market and Planning Efficiency through Improved Software and Hardware - Enhanced Wide-Area Planning Models
FERC-HQ, 888 First Street, NE, Washington, DC
June 9-10, 2010
Session G Recording - (Right Click & Select "Play")
Stephen S. Miller, P.E., TRANSMISSION 2000® Section Manager at Commonwealth Associates, Inc., was one of the speakers at this conference sponsored by FERC. The conference focused on enabling a more efficient planning and cost allocation process through the employment of better large-scale transmission expansion and economic planning models. Mr. Miller spoke on: “Extending Traditional Planning Methods to Provide a Prescriptive Evaluation of Category C Outages.” He demonstrated how Commonwealth’s proprietary TRANSMISSION 2000® Electric Grid Cascading Outage Analysis software produces reasonable and verifiable assessments of electric grid vulnerability to widespread blackout. This tool also provides an objective measure of the NERC reliability criteria allowing “Planned/Controlled” loss of load for Category C “double” contingencies. Applying this tool can prevent over-design, which results in excessive spending, as well as under-design that could lead to the failure of the transmission system.
Mr. Miller has more than 30 years of experience in the analysis and planning of electric utility transmission systems and in the development of the TRANSMISSION 2000® series of programs that are designed to improve the analysis and planning of electric utility transmission systems. He has been with Commonwealth since 1994 and holds a Professional Degree in Electrical Engineering, a M.S. in Electrical Engineering, and a B.S in Electrical Engineering, all from the University of Michigan. His professional affiliations include the CIGRE - U.S. National Committee, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), and the EEE Power Engineering Society's Task Force on Power System Analytical Data involved in revisions to the Industrial Applications Society's Brown Book.
For more information on Commonwealth’s TRANSMISSION 2000® Electric Grid Cascading Outage Analysis software, please contact:
- Stephen S. Miller, P.E.
- Commonwealth Associates, Inc.
- P.O. Box 1124
- Jackson, MI 49204-1124
- Tel.: (517) 788-3676
- Fax: (517) 788-3003
- E-mail: Stephen S. Miller