Welcome to the 80th issue of the PSC News. That’s right, the 80th issue! We’ve been sharing information with our clients like this since 2002. Our newsletter format has changed over the last 20 years, but our aim is still the same – to keep you current on the developments within PSC and share relevant and valuable information written by our staff.
This issue includes several highlights that I’m delighted to share with you. We’ve included an e-report about smart infrastructure, a white paper on the skills shortage, several blog posts from PSC-ers worldwide, introductions of our new employees, and spotlights on a few others. After a lengthy two-year hiatus, we’re also happy to report on some recently attended conferences. It feels great to be getting out there again in person to network and catch up.
We hope you enjoy this issue of the PSC News and welcome any feedback you have.
Kevin Cheung, PSC North America Managing Director
REPORT: Energizing smart infrastructure
This new PSC e-report investigates how progressive U.S. utilities are embracing smart infrastructure to provide more flexible and controllable loads on the grid, as well as identify where more innovation is needed.
WHITE PAPER: Change is constant, the skills shortage need not be
Written by PSC’s Head of Strategic Service Development, Matt Robinson, this paper looks at our industry’s shortage of skilled staff, the challenge to do more with our current people and cultivating emerging talent during an era of extraordinary transformation. With input from several of his global colleagues, Matt offers up innovative approaches and examples of addressing this ongoing issue.
PSC UK’s Chief Engineer in Power Systems, Steve Nutt and Engineer Carlos Ferrandon discuss the challenge of frequency stability raised in National Grid’s Operability Strategy Report of 2021.
MPLS vs. SD-WAN: Is one really better than the other?
PSC’s Telecoms & Southeast Australia Manager John Beattie ponders the pros and cons of Software-Defined Wide-area Networking (SD-WAN) to that of the traditional Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) routing technique.
PSC is proud to become a member of Energy Storage Ireland (ESI) and part of a collaborative network that recognizes the potential for energy storage in Ireland.
After two years, the International Conference on Developments in Power System Protection (DPSP) is back in a hybrid format. PSC’s Richard Adams and Daniel Randles were there in person to participate and report back on the much-missed networking and new developments toward maintaining grid stability.
From L – R: Matt Robinson, Roger Riley, Tina Kazmer (front), Amir Mehrtash, Marie Slako (front), Rod Kisten
Energy Networks Australia 2022
The PSC team attended EN2022 on March 16-18 in Brisbane. Read PSC’s Marie Slako’s review in her LinkedIn article, “Creative thinking, data and the energy transformation.”
If you’re in or around Seattle April 19-20, don’t miss this special event, Grid FWD. PSC is a proud premier-level sponsor and would love to catch up with you in person there!
PSC now has over 12,000 followers on our LinkedIn page. A huge thank you to everyone who follows us and engages with PSC via the biggest professional network in the world. We appreciate every one of you and value your continued support.
International Women’s Day
In support of a gender-equal world, PSC employees showed their spirit for International Women’s Day on March 8. #BreakTheBias
— PSC Asia Pacific —
Ray Young PSC welcomes Ray Young to our New Zealand management team with responsibility for the Real-Time Systems group and the new Power Network Solutions we are developing. Ray’s most recent role was as manager of the Christchurch City Council Transport Real-Time Operations team which is responsible for on-road technologies, traffic lights and cameras in the city. He has a wide variety of experience from starting with the South Canterbury Electric Power Board, a 12-month term in Antarctica as the Scott Base electrician, to working in industrial controls, automation and service management for a number of companies. Ray is based in our Christchurch office.
Mary Minnock PSC welcomes Mary Minnock to our APAC SCADA/EMS team where her immediate focus will be supporting clients with their operational technology needs. She comes to us after 15 years’ experience with AusNet Services as a senior SCADA systems engineer. Mary has a strong background in the energy sector with a focus on renewable projects in recent years. She received her Bachelor of Engineering from RMIT and her Bachelor of Science (Mathematics) from Dublin City University. Mary and her family have recently moved to the Gold Coast and are looking forward to exploring all that Queensland has to offer. She is based in our Brisbane office.
Tyler Coetzee PSC welcomes Tyler Coetzee to the APAC Power Networks team. Most recently, Tyler has been delivering power system studies using PSS/E and PSCAD for grid connection of renewables. He is keen to continue building on that experience at PSC as we look to grow our Power Networks team in the future. Tyler is based in Melbourne, in the Power System Studies team.
Hesam Marzooghi PSC welcomes Hesam Marzooghi to the APAC Power Networks Team. He has a Ph.D. from the University of Sydney and has presented a number of journal and conference papers over the years. Hesam was most recently the Engineering Manager at WSP where he managed the team delivering a range of projects including grid connection studies, due diligence studies and Owner’s Engineering roles. Hesam has joined us as the Team Leader Power System Studies NSW, and is based in Sydney.
— PSC North America —
Mandhakini Motukuri PSC welcomes Mandhakini Motukuri to PSC. Mandhakini is our new North America Sales and Marketing Lead. Mandhakini has experience working in different fields of Engineering, Marketing & Business Development. Mandhakini joins us from McElhanney Ltd as a Bids, Proposals & Marketing Specialist. Prior to this, she worked as an Instrumentation Engineer at a Pharmaceutical organization based in India. She has a degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering with a Master’s of Business (Marketing). Mandhakini is based in our Vancouver, BC office.
Roul Martin PSC welcomes back former PSC engineer, Roul Martin to Power Networks as a Senior Power System Engineer. Roul has experience with the Alberta System Operator (AESO) working in different roles including System Operations and Generation & Load Interconnections. Prior to that, Roul was with Jamaica Public Service Electric Utility Company working in different roles, including System Operations and System Planning. Roul is a graduate of the University of the West Indies, Trinidad and holds a MSc and BSc in Power Systems Engineering. Roul is based in our Vancouver, BC office.
Nicolas Santoni PSC welcomes Nicolas to the PSC IT team. An experienced Systems Engineer and Administrator, Nicolas has a wealth of knowledge and practical know-how in general networking and Microsoft-based solutions. For over 25 years he has worked in the field of IT; designing, administering and maintaining a variety of system implementations ranging from the early days of Windows for Workgroups and Windows NT to the modern cloud approaches. Nicolas has a keen interest in internet and “as-a-service-” based solutions such as Azure and Office 365; and sees this as the future of corporate infrastructure. Nicolas works remotely in the U.S.
Alex Abernathy PSC welcomes Alex Abernathy to the PSC IT team. Alex comes to us from a managed services provider where he was a systems administrator and part of a team responsible for the day-to-day management of Office 365, networking and PCs. With technology training in the U.S. Army, Alex has the knowledge to handle a wide variety of technical issues. He’s a lover of new technology and video games and is based remotely in the U.S.
Payam Tavakoli PSC welcomes Payam Tavakoli to the NA Power Networks group. Payam has a B.Sc. degree from the University of Alberta and is an Engineer-in-Training with Engineers and Geoscientists BC. He is also enrolled in a Master’s program in Smart Grid Systems and Technologies at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. Payam has experience working on the BC Hydro Site C project and is based in our Vancouver, BC office.
Arash Tavighi PSC welcomes Arash Tavighi who has joined our North America Power Networks team as a Studies Consultant Engineer. Arash has a Ph.D. from the University of British Columbia. Before joining PSC, he worked for BC Hydro as a Consultant Engineer and for Powertech Labs as a Substation Studies and Generation Services engineer. Arash is based in our Vancouver, BC office.
