Friday, November 10, 2006, 7:45AM to 5:00PM
The Chamber, Ben Franklin Place
101 Centrepointe Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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07:45-08:20

Registration and Continental Breakfast 
 

08:20-08:25

Organizers Introductory Remarks

Objectives, program overview, house announcements.
 

08:25-08:30

Welcome Statement
v         The EPS2006 Organizing Committee, Co-Chairs
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08:30-08:40

Chairperson's Remarks
v         Dr. Bob Hanna, FIEEE, FEIC, President of IEEE Canada and IEEE Director (Region 7), President of RPM Engineering, Ontario, Canada

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08:40 

Official Opening
v         Dr. Adam Chowaniec, P.Eng., Chair of the Ontario Research and Innovation Council, Ontario; Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tundra Semiconductor Corporation; Executive in Residence at Vengrowth Capital Partners Inc.
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08:55

Nikola Tesla's Contribution to AC Power Systems and Electrical Engineering
v         Prof. Dr. Petar Miljanic, Academician, Head of the Department of Technical Sciences, Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Belgrade, Serbia

Tesla's invention of the rotating electromagnetic field/induction motor and polyphase system of alternating current for generation, transmission, distribution, and use of electrical power will be described. Teslas’s most important patents will be discussed. Several historical photos taken in 19th century, illustrating the state-of-the-art in Electrical Engineering of that time will be shown and commented.
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09:40 

Keynote Presentation: Development of the AC Power System: The Foundation of Progress
v         Colin Clark, P.Eng., SMIEEE , Executive Vice-President and Chief Technical Officer of Brookfield Power and of the Great Lakes Power Trust, Gatineau, Québec

Electrification has been called the greatest engineering achievement of the twentieth century. Alternating current has been the platform for the spectacular growth of electric power systems over more than 100 years. In this presentation the speaker traces the evolution of the Ac system from its beginnings in the 1880s, through its rise to dominance, to the innovations that are reshaping electric power technology today.
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10:25-10:40

Networking Refreshment Break
 

11:50

Morning Plenary Discussion
 

12:10-13:10

Lunch
 

 13:10

Investing in the "Smart Grid" – A Venture Capitalist’s Perspective
v         Scott MacDonald, Investment Director, SAM Private Equity

A leading venture capitalist focused on the energy technology sector will provide his insight into the emerging investment theme of the “Smart Grid”. This session will also provide insight into what venture capitalists are looking for in the energy sector and where the investment dollars are flowing.
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13:45

Grid Integration of Distributed Generation, The Federal Government’s Role
v         Rob Brandon, P. Eng., Program Manager, Distributed Generation, CANMET Energy Technology Center, Natural Resources Canada

In the last four years Natural Resources Canada has funded a coordinated program in Distributed Energy including a new area, Grid Integration, centered in CETC’s Montreal laboratory. Grid integration activities have included international collaboration on the development of Smart Grid concepts combined with a focus on changing Canadian codes and standards that currently pose institutional barriers to technology deployment. The presentation will present an overview of the Federal Government activities in grid integration, distributed generation and demand response, also the presentation will talk about programs in Europe, the United States and Japan focusing on the issues of integration of distributed generation.
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 14:20

Intelligent Distributed Autonomous Power Systems (IDAPS)
v         Prof. Dr. Saifur Rahman, Director, Advanced Research Institute, Virginia Tech, USA

The electric power system is an enabling infrastructure that underpins our fuel supply, water and wastewater systems, transportation networks, telecommunication services, healthcare, and safety and economic well-being of a  nation. However, the recent man-made and natural disasters - such as the northeastern USA and eastern Canada blackout in August 2003 and Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 - have exposed the vulnerabilities of the electric power grid, and their inability to recover quickly from failures. IDAPS that will contribute to the resiliency of power systems during both normal and outage conditions. IDAPS represents a network of loosely connected power systems that are cellular in structure.
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 14:55

Smart Grid Architecture with Changing Infrastructure
v        Romano Sironi, P.Eng., Manager of Policy & Standards, Toronto Hydro, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Toronto Hydro is the largest distribution utility in Ontario. Toronto Hydro is embarking in major investments to rejuvenate its ageing distribution system. Several initiatives are underway that will progress Toronto Hydro towards a Smart Grid vision and transform its distribution system into a highly intelligent system. Our customers must understand the importance of energy conservation and work with the utility in connecting embedded generators.
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15:40 

Wind Farm Smart System Protection and Stability Using Peer to Peer Communications
v         Dale Finney, M. Eng., P. Eng., Applications Engineer, General Electric Multilin, Canada

Protection of wind farm electrical systems presents many unique challenges. The grid tie and wind turbine generators provide multiple sources of fault currents to be considered. Collector feeders become isolated ungrounded systems during faults due to separation from the centralized collector bus reference ground. Ground faults on feeders will result in unfaulted phase voltages rising to line levels..
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16:15 

Network Operator’s Perspective of DG & Smart Grids
v        Darren Finkbeiner, Manager, Market Entry & Analysis, Independent Electricity System Operator (IeSO), Ontario, Canada.

The Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) balances the supply of and demand for electricity in Ontario and then directs its flow across the province's transmission lines. As the province moves towards a more distributed system of generation, there are a number of benefits and implications that the system operator must consider. Mr. Finkbeiner will address transmission and connection related considerations and describe improvements that have been made to facilitate more distributed generation in the provincial electricity system.
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16:40 

Information Technology for the Electric Power Industry: Evolving Needs, Challenges and Opportunities
v         Lawrence E. Jones, Ph.D., Account Executive, AREVA T&D, Brockton, MA, USA

Today information technology is the backbone for successful operation of power grids and is the basis for meeting the challenges and changes in the power industry. IT presents new opportunities for research, entrepreneurship and innovation. More and more control center operators are asking for increased operational foresight and would like the ability to "predict" system behavior which requires advanced computational tools. The industry is also faced with a looming aging work force problem in the next 3-5 years. This resulting lack of skilled human capital could also increase the use of information technology but also pose operational risks. This lecture will review closer several of the factors related to this nexus of electric power-information technology. Examples of advances being made to address some of the challenges and take advantage of IT to ultimately mitigate operational risks (financial and physical) and ensure grid reliability will be discussed.
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17:15 

Afternoon Plenary Discussion
 

17:30-17:45

Closing Remarks