Anas Aqeel of ComEd

The course introduction will include an overview of SCADA and EMS functionality, a history of the evolution of SCADA systems, and a description and examples of the data, one-line diaplays and other fundamental SCADA applications.  

Biography:

Anas Aqeel is a dedicated professional with a background in engineering and a passion for driving operational excellence. With over 5 years of experience at ComEd, he currently serves as a General Engineer in Transmission Operations Support. Anas has been in various SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) support roles, in Transmission and Distribution operations. Holding a Bachelor's degree in Electrical and Instrumentation Engineering from Osmania University, India, and pursing an MBA in Engineering Management from Southern New Hampshire University.

Bo Beniac of ComEd

The equipment used to measure power system voltages, flows and status signals in the substations, and on transmission and distribution lines will be presented with examples how the measurements are communicated to the SCADA monitors in the operations control center.  

Biography:

Bo Beniac is an electrical engineering graduate (B.S.) from Southern Illinois University of Carbondale from 2011-2015. Go Salukis! Bo has worked for ComEd since graduating from SIU, with 1 year previously as an intern. Bo has 7 ½ years of experience as a field engineer.

At ComEd, Bo’s works in the field consisted of troubleshooting system conditions, preventative maintenance in testing electrical mechanical and microprocessor based relays, and project installations to enhance the grid. Bo's main focus was on distribution relaying and SCADA equipment inside the substations, working with our remote SCADA Maintenance support groups.

Bo is a registered P.E. in Illinois since 2021.  Bo recently moved to a new position in ComEd in DER (Distributed Energy Resource) Engineering.

Bo and his wife currently have one little girl and one more on the way this winter. They are both involved in their church. Bo say's "We’re there all day Sunday, from her singing to myself leading a youth group in the evenings to working with young adults on Monday nights as well."   Bo also plays basketball when possible, and loves to follow Chicago Cubs baseball!

Alan Engelmann

An electrical operations control center monitors the current state of the power system.  In addition, a very important application to ensure reliable and secure operation of the power system is the network applications that are part of an Energy Management System (EMS).  These applications include state estimation, contingency analysis, and operator power flow.  These applications enable operators to identify potential contingencies (e.g. transmission line faults, generator outages) that can put the power system at risk and take corrective action prior to the contingency occuring.  These applications rely on detailed mathematical models of the power system and calibrating the models with the real time measurements from SCADA.  This topic will provide an understanding of these applications, the data that enables them, and examples of their use in real time operations.  

Biography:

Alan Engelmann has over 30 years of experience in the electric power industry. Having spent much of his career working in the areas of transmission planning and operations, he has a broad knowledge of bulk power system design, analysis, operation, reliability and resiliency. He retired from Commonwealth Edison in 2022 and now works as an independent contractor.

Mr. Engelmann’s work at Commonwealth Edison included over 20 years in Transmission Planning, where he worked as Principal Engineer leading initiatives and studies focused on power system reliability and reinforcement. His work encompassed a wide range of projects and technical areas including power system dynamic stability, voltage stability, generation interconnection studies, electromagnetic transients, and resiliency.

He also spent over 7 years supporting EMS/SCADA at Commonwealth Edison’s Bulk Power Operations Center, where he provided support and development for the advanced network applications as well as power system modeling, and participated in an extensive EMS/SCADA system replacement project.

Mr. Engelmann holds an MSEE degree in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University and received his BSEE from Valparaiso University. He is a member of IEEE PES, and is a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Illinois.

Tom Kay

Ensuring security of the Critical Infrastructure managed by SCADA and EMS systems requires rigorous cyber seccurity practices.  The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) has established mandatory standards that apply to SCADA and EMS systems.  This topic will cover an overview of cyber security practices and the NERC requirements.  The purpose of each of the practices and requirements are explaned to provide a good foundation of cyber security as applied to these systems.  

Biography:

Thomas Kay has over 40 years of experience in the electric power industry.  He retired from Exelon in February of 2019 after a successful 38-year career.  He is currently working as an independent consultant/contractor providing power system engineering services.  He is also maintaining involvement with the industry through active membership in the IEEE and keeping current with industry developments.

When Mr. Kay  retired from Exelon in February of 2019, he was an IT Director for Exelon Utilities.  He directed a team of over 100 IT professionals to provide application and general deskside support to Exelon clients. 

Previously, as a Senior Manager in Exelon Information Technology, Mr. Kay led a team to implement processes, procedures, and tools to enable Exelon Business Units to operate in compliance with the NERC CIP Version 5 Standards.     

Mr. Kay has also served as a Manager in ComEd Transmission Planning for over 8 years, where he was responsible for managing the process for interconnecting generation to the ComEd transmission system, and managing technical studies related to planning and operation of the ComEd transmission system.  Mr. Kay also led the initial implementation of ComEd’s NERC Compliance Program. 

Other prior positions held include serving as Manager for planning the Electric Power Transmission System in Northeastern Illinois (ComEd) and Eastern Pennsylvania (PECO).  I have also held positions managing analytical studies, and the development of EMS/SCADA and Distribution Automation Systems. 

Mr. Kay holds a BSEE and MSEE in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign.  Mr. Kay is a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Illinois.

Manish Jain

Given the critical role that SCADA and EMS systems have in continuous operation of the power grid, changes and maintenance of the SCADA and EMS software need to be rigorously tested and validated to ensure any changes work correctlly and are free from software errors before being installed in the production environment.  Most SCADA and EMS systems in operation today have multiple environments implemented to allow maintenance, testing and training separate from the production system.  An overview and details of how these environments are configured and utilized will be presented.

Biography:

Manish Jain is an Electrical Engineer working at Exelon for the last 15 years. Currently, Manish is the Manager – Transmission Operation Support, managing a team that manages Energy Management System Exelon (ComEd). Manish has held various roles in Transmission Planning and IT SCADA organization at Exelon. Manish graduated with a BS in Electrical Engineering from Vellore Institute of Technology, India, and a master’s in electrical engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), Chicago, in 2009.

Jeny Koruth

An overview of the IT hardware and architecture of a typical SCADA control center will be described.  Equipment such as Serial and Internet Protocol communications, Firelwalls, Front end Processors,  Remote Terminal Unit communications and scan rates will be covered.

Biography:

Jeny Koruth is a seasoned professional with a diverse background bridging mechanical engineering and computer science. Holding a Bachelor of Technology in Mechanical Engineering from MG University, India (1988) and a Master of Science in Computer Science from DePaul University, Chicago (1995), Jeny's career spans over 27 years, predominantly within ComEd / Exelon since 1996. With a strong technical prowess, he has been instrumental in designing and developing in-house telemetry front-end processors, adeptly utilizing Conitel, PGE, Modbus, and DNP RTU protocols. His contributions extend to providing invaluable IT support for a range of SCADA/EMS systems, including ComEd's FIG and Encore systems, ABB's Ranger/NMR4 systems, and OSII's Monarch system.

Brian Byrnes

An overview of the IT hardware and architecture of a typical SCADA control center will be described.  Equipment such as Serial and Internet Protocol communications, Firelwalls, Front end Processors,  Remote Terminal Unit communications and scan rates will be covered.

Biography:

Brian Byrnes is an IT professional with 30+ Years of experience in the following areas:  

• Subject Matter Expert for the SCADA App Support Team, which is responsible for the T&D Real Time Systems for ComEd.
• Subject Matter Expert for the Application Architecture team supporting Ventyx Passport, Asset Suite and all bolt-on applications.
• Subject Matter Expert for Orbitz’s External Hosting team.  Operational owner of TPC, LDC, Away.comand AA.com.
• Subject Matter Expert for ABN-Amro Speedtrade and ChicagoCorp Trading.