r/PowerSystemsEE

I’m completing a BSEE but I would also like to get started on CU Boulder’s online MS-ECE. CU Boulder has a great reputation as an engineering school.

Their online MS-ECE is mostly concentrated in power electronics and embedded systems. I find those topics interesting but can they benefit me if I want to become a power systems engineer? Is there any use for them in transmission, substation design, or distribution?

If I plan to go into power systems (consulting or utilities), and my school doesn’t offer any power systems courses, is that going to count against me in a transcript screen?

I plan to teach myself to the best of my ability and maybe pass the FE, but I’m not sure if the coursework itself is going to be a big hit.

I’m gonna graduate with an MEP EE internship on my resume so I think it will be easiest to get into an MEP firm or even the wastewater firm since there’s a huge wastewater firm near me.

But should I be going substation instead? Or are we splitting hairs and both are just as good as the other?

The pros of substation seems to be it’s more technical so you get more into physics but isn’t wasteWater Mep very technical as well?

Currently an entry level at Burns & Mac in power (1-3 years) and while I love my team, the work, and the people here, for a few reasons that I’m not too keen on sharing I don’t know if this is the place for me long term. If you know Burns & Mac you know about the ‘cult vibes’ and I can’t say for sure if I’m bought in or not.

So, i recently started looking for new opportunities and received an offer from Sargent & Lundy in their T&D group. The work seems more fun (renewables and battery, much faster paced, more shorter projects instead of Less short ones) and the location is better for me, and so I’m really thinking about jumping ship.

For those of you who have worked at Sargent & Lundy, or at Burns & Mac and jumped ship, what has your experience been? Would you say you made the right choice?

Hey Guys, I've been asked to come into the SEL office for an onsite interview. I have previously completed my HR screening and 2 technical interviews. The role is a design engineer role which is also customer facing. I want to know
- what to expect for an onsite interview
- how do i prep to ace this interview
- what are they specifically looking for?
-Do's and don'ts

Any help on this is really appreciated, I have never before given an in person interview

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for the best book or tutorial to learn protective relaying from beginner to advanced level. My main interest is finding resources that include a lot of solved numerical examples, practical relay setting calculations, and real-world applications.

I'm especially interested in topics such as:

Overcurrent protection

Earth fault protection

Distance protection

Differential protection

Transformer and motor protection

Relay coordination and setting calculations

If you know of any books, online courses, YouTube channels, or tutorials that explain these topics clearly with plenty of worked examples, I'd really appreciate your recommendations.

Thanks in advance!

Hi all, I’m an undergrad (stats/CS background) presenting my first poster at IEEE PES GM 2026 in Montreal this July.

The topic is around carbon intensity forecasting for power system operation.

It’s my first big academic conference and I’m honestly a bit nervous. Would really appreciate advice from anyone who’s attended PES GM or conferences like it:

\*\*1.\*\*	What’s actually worth my time — sessions, poster session, receptions? How do people network naturally without it feeling forced?    
\*\*2.\*\*	Any rookie mistakes to avoid? (dress code, etiquette when talking to senior people, etc.)    
\*\*3.\*\*	As an introvert, what’s realistically the best way to make a few meaningful connections rather than trying to “work the room”?

Also — if anyone here is attending PES GM in Montreal, feel free to reach out, would be great to meet up.

Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone,

I'm a 26-year-old electrical engineer from Brazil, currently living here and waiting for my Green Card through my wife. The process will probably take another year and a half, so I'm using this time to prepare for the US job market.

By then, I'll have about 7 years of experience at a small electric utility serving around 25,000 customers. My background includes distribution design, GIS, asset management, quality control of distribution projects, and about 2 years working in a Distribution Operations Center (similar to a utility control room).

My goal is to work as a Distribution Planning Engineer. I've been studying distribution planning extensively on my own, mainly using OpenDSS and Python, and I'm planning to take the FE Electrical exam in January.

I'd love to hear from engineers already working in this field. How's the market for Distribution Planning Engineers? Is demand still strong? Does my background seem relevant, and what skills or knowledge would you recommend I focus on during the next year and a half before moving to the US?

Thanks! I really appreciate any advice.

I’m an electrical engineering student currently learning ETAP for power system studies.

My goal is to build strong practical skills in studies like load flow, short circuit analysis, relay coordination, motor starting, and transient stability so that I can be industry-ready and face fewer difficulties when I start working professionally.

I’m looking for real-world or professional-format power system data (single-line diagrams, bus data, transformer ratings, cable details, protection settings, generator data, etc.) that I can use for practice.

Where can I find such datasets, sample projects, or industrial case studies for ETAP practice?

Any suggestions, resources, or guidance would be really appreciated.

Hey Everyone,

I'm an electrical engineering student who will be co-oping at Duke Energy in the fall and I'm wondering what some of my better options might be department wise.

This co-op I've already been assigned to the Transmission Engineering team which I'm very excited for, but my options are: Grid Planning Studies, Transmission Engineering, Distribution Engineering, Project Management & Construction, and Regulated and Renewable Energy. I'm curious if there's a big pay difference between each department long term, but more importantly if any one job people seem to be happier in. Personally I would love to stay far away from coding but other then that I don't have super strong feelings yet. I'm excited about transmission but I have a friend who works at Mitsubishi Power on what sounds very similar to the project management and construction department at Duke and his job honestly sounds like the dream getting to diagnose and fix what's wrong in power plants.

If possible I'd also love to hear about people's experiences at Duke or utility companies in general. It's honestly the dream for me and I'm incredibly excited I just wanna pick a niche now and would love to hear about what other people have experienced.

Thanks for the help!

ive been trying to understand battery systems more from the pack and power side, not just the cell chemistry side.

a lot of public battery discussion seems to focus on energy density, new chemistries, longer run time and that sort of thing. but once you get into high power applications, the actual pack design starts to look just as important, maybe more important in some cases.

things like heat spreading through the pack, current sharing, repeated high discharge, protection if one cell fails, BMS behaviour, testing under realistic load, storage, transport and general safety all seem like the parts that decide whether the system works reliably outside a demo.

one company i came across while reading about battery safety was KULR, but im not really asking from a stock angle. im more interested in the engineering side of where these systems usually struggle.

i know this probably depends a lot on the application. a grid storage site, a drone pack, industrial equipment and aerospace hardware are all going to have different limits and failure modes. but the general pattern seems similar: the cell matters, but the system around it matters a lot too.

for people who work around batteries or power systems, where do you usually see the hardest problems show up in practice? is it mostly cell selection, thermal design, pack layout, BMS limits, testing, or something else entirely?

I submitted a paper to IEEE SmartGridComm 2026 in April. The acceptance notification date has already passed (June 19), but I have not received any email regarding acceptance or rejection.

I checked EDAS and my paper still shows “Active (has manuscript).” I also do not see any decision or review section on the paper page.

Has anyone else submitted to SmartGridComm 2026? Have you received a notification or seen any status update in EDAS?

Hi everyone am graduating with a bachelor of technology in electrical engineering soon , what is the difference between bachelor of technology in electrical engineering and bachelor of electrical engineering technology wich i heard the last one is more of a technician degree or the both are I need to hear from the ones who did a similar degree is it worth it ? Is there any difference between u and a regular EE grad ? And if there is any hiring engineers here do u think I should do a bridge to a full EE and what are the procedure like in Canada because I am moving there soon my degree is not from an accredited Canadian University so what should I do i feel like I wasted my time although my degree had all the EE classes from advanced math ,physics, and all the EE hard courses, I only joined because the EE program in my university offered two specialties in EE and it's mandatory to chose one either power and electrical machines or controls i wanted to do both that's why I went with the B.tech degree now after getting a closer look at the jobs market and the difference I fell like I messed up big time , what should I do am only asking for guidance from senior engineers feel free to be brutally honest I will do everything nothing will ever set me back i just want the shortest bath for an EE degree what should I do

Any leads for on-demand SCADA courses available online that provide PDH credits? Looking to understand basic concepts of communications like IEC-61850, DNP, Networking.

Currently I am in a project which involves Type 3 Wind Turbine simulations, I have gone through PSS/E and PSLF generic models of these and am having a hard time understanding them. I tried searching online and even on ieee site, but mostly no information I found help me exactly understand the models. ( I have knowledge of DFIM and other parts required but the model isn't making much sense to me ).

So I have a question is there any site where I can get documentation on particular PSS/E and PSLF generic models and how they function and their inner functionalities. What I need is like detail theory behind each block so as to I can figure out where changes are rqeuired and what are their exact functionalities>

PS: I am relatively new to the field. Any help would be appreciated.