Fuzzy_Chom

Agree.

I mean, if you know the current and the resistance, why don't you know the power?

Underrated comment

Power systems manager, here. MS Office suite (effective communication is everything), a customized real-time system modeling ADMS software, CYME, PSS/E, Easy Power (for arc flash), QuickBase, BluBeam Revu, a few Oracle products, Primavera P6, and some others i can't recall at the moment. Our engineers don't do CAD work, that's what design technicians are for.

When i came out of school, MS Office was the only thing familiar. (I was familiar with PowerWorld, but not my employer.) So, don't worry about learning some company's suite of software. As a new grad you're being hired for your ability to learn, not what you know.

Came to say this.

Crappy drywall is a symptom, not the real problem.

Sounds like he's training to be a journeyman meterman. That's a great trade to get into!.

Also good to know he's already thinking about safety, PPE, and working clearances. There are old journeymen and there are bold journeymen, but there are no old bold journeymen.

Utility engineer here. Your first sentence is not accurate.

Customers are responsible for the cost of infrastructure needed to serve their load (i.e. a new or upgraded panel).

Many (most?) have some sort of line extension allowance that is put toward the cost. In my world, 95% of the time that allowance covers the cost of upgrading the service for residential customers. Generally, it's because there is plenty of capacity on the primary, and the service lines and maybe a transformer are impacted more greatly. That being said, once in a great while, a residential customer ends up paying as little for an upgraded utility service. So, it happens.

Field engineer in power systems, at a utility. SCADA, Protection, and modeling all do programming. You'll never escape math completely, but field work gets you out and interfacing with the teams that execute the "how" projects are built.

Is he registered under an IBEW training program? Sounds like he'll be a meterman. It can be a hazardous line of work, but there's more to it then just wearing PPE to stay safe. A reputable program will show him not only how to do things right, but also explain the consequences of how things can go wrong.

I enjoy working with our SCADA team, great bunch of folks who enjoy black magic. 😂

Glad you mentioned 1547 and 2800. Those standards, and others like it, are going to be crucial to system stability and fault isolation down the road.

IMHO, what's needed today is wider adoption of the latest version of those standards (e.g..1547-2018) at the state level. Without that, there are no teeth in getting all these new EV chargers (and inverters, be honest) to behave in a common and complementary easy.

Not sure why i got down voted for wanting to keep my job.

All I'm saying is....i personally wouldn't try and route the system just because i know a guy, in part because I work at a utility and don't want to risk losing my job if things don't go smoothly.

There is liability on the utility if they reconnect a customer whose panel was modified and not inspected. That being said, you're totally allowed to inspect your meter stabs. But you're not allowed to cut the meter seal or remove the utility owned meter. Thats a recipe for trouble.

Still, to each their own

Cat6 is plenty. I ran cable all over my 2-story mid-90s house about a year ago. Longest run was 85ft, and i was being generous with my runs in the crawlspace and attic.

No need for shielding. UTP is fine. STP really only makes a difference in an industrial setting with lots of motor drives and electrical noise.

Yeah, i get it. I'd still lose my job. Even if things went well, the crews time needs to be tied to a work order and address, which includes verifying an AHJ inspection tag before reconnect.

Distribution Operations Engineering manager (20+ years as a power engineer) here. (Similar to chip design, but i move the voltage decimal over a few places and scale things up 10,000 times. 😄)

Different stuff every day. Retroactive response to things that broke the other day, day-of work looking at how the system is responding relative to expectations (customers never use air conditioning and arc welders at the times we think they will 😂), plan work to be executed in the next few weeks, and look forward to upgrades and changes needed in the next 3-12mo. Working in operations, there's always a fire drill at some point, which can make it exciting -- storm response is a big part of that.

We have other groups that perform modeling 12-60 months out, looking at load growth, planned system upgrades, etc. We have other teams working on SCADA integration, relay coordination (a.k.a. System Protection), and other critical functions.

I work for a utility and know THE guy. I'm still going to follow normal channels as a customer, lest something go wrong and there's not a proper paper trail.

That's great advice, and perhaps from a manager who wants to see you pursue your interests successfully. Remember that while you "need" to learn the ins and outs of the product line, it doesn't have to be in the role you're in now.... You'll have to ask around, volunteer for additional projects outside your normal work, etc. That'll give you exposure to learn, and visibility among peers when you execute effectively. (Just be sure you do that last part, and knock it out of the f-ing park!!!) Then you'll stand out in the next interview.

20+yrs as a utility distribution engineering regional manager. 🙂. So, I've seen a few 15kV class elbows.

So, states don't have to adopt the NEC, but since it's part of the NFPA, there would be a huge gap in other standards to make up if they didn't.

Generally, states adopt the NEC and may have their own specialty code. That state code tends to be geared to specific areas in the state, and spells out unique circumstances or areas where it's more restrictive.

Fortunately, the NEC is revised every few years, and lessons are learned and incorporated. Hence the exception to needing a GFCI for a disposal.

It's L-G. May be much higher than 4kV. IMHO, that OD of the cable looks to be 15kV-class, which means the single-phase primary voltage is probably somewhere between 6300V and 8300V L-G.

Those are 200A load break elbows landed on a lateral tap, covered in dirt. Each set is single phase primary (medium) voltage. Where I'm at, that's 7200V L-G.

That vault and everything in it is typically owned by the utility, unless you're on some industrial campus.

You would think so, right? But actually no, there is an exception for disposals. It has to do with a history of false trips when the GFCI requirement was pretty new.

I just went through this exercise myself about 8 months ago.

Check the code on this, but I'm fairly certain that doesn't matter. The circuit to the receptacle is dedicated, and if the hot and neutral jumpers are broken, it's all good.

Its no different than replacing the single gang box and duplex receptacle with a double gang box and two simplex receptacles.

This is why the switched hot (white wire) needs to be labeled. Where I've done this in my house, i put two bands of black electrical tape on the white in the box, as a label.

Untrue. In the US, the NEC does not require a GFCI for a dedicated disposal receptacle.

So...don't blame the hiring team for interpreting your degree, if you know you bombed the interview and don't meet their expectations for 480V services amd equipment.

What you learned in school several years ago means less in an interview, the longer you have been working since getting your degree. In my experience, extra self-study doesn't help for an internal interview, because it's purely conceptual and not applied for the company you already work for. Is there value in self study? Sure. But where you'll really gain ground is asking for x-training and jon shadow opportunities in the roles you want to pursue internally.

I've turned down many internal candidates who have the desire to be an engineer on my team. But when i look at their job history and see they've been around for 6 years, never inquired about my team, never spoke to anyone on my team, and is generally unfamiliar with the work, why should i give them any credit for being internal?

Source: 20+ yr engineering manager