Jun 30, 2024
The 2024 IEEE PES T&D Conference and Exposition has come and gone. Take our word for it, it was a great time.
The 2024 IEEE PES T&D Conference and Exposition has come and gone. Take our word for it, it was a great time. We look forward to these bi-annual conferences because we take away so much from them. The next one is scheduled for Chicago in 2026. You can bet Commonwealth team members will be there.
Our team was in Anaheim to meet with attendees and give them a comprehensive look at what it takes to succeed in an AEP Engineer of Choice partnership. Our presentation team included Commonwealth COO Matt Hales, engineer Jason Wallace, and AEP's Leigh Ann King.
More About the Engineer of Choice
Commonwealth currently enjoys an Engineer of Choice (EOC) partnership with AEP. An EOC contract relates to the provision of engineering services to a utility or power plant operator. Those services are provided by the EOC partner.
EOC partnerships enhance engineering expertise in everything from maintenance and upgrades to developing new projects. A utility can maintain multiple EOC partnerships or work exclusively with a single service provider. Multiple providers are the norm due to the complexity of generating and delivering power.
More About the IEEE
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a professional association catering to electrical engineering, electronics engineering, and other similar disciplines. The nonprofit organization was formed in 1963 after a marriage between the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) and the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE).
Its routes date back to the late 1880s. Back then, the two organizations that would eventually merge were competitors. In what way? They were competing for students. The AIEE had a 28-year head start on the IRE, but the latter eventually caught up and surpassed the former by the mid-1950s.
Today's IEEE is a prolific distributor of computer, electronics, and electrical engineering literature. The organization publishes dozens of magazines and journals including IEEE Access, Pulse IEEE, and Power & Energy Magazine.
More About the Bi-Annual Conference
The IEEE PES T&D Conference and Exposition is one of the most important industry conferences and one that every major player makes a point of attending. Every two years, representatives from all the biggest names in power generation and distribution get together to instruct, encourage, and present a vision for the future. The 2024 conference and exposition was no different.
These types of events are a big deal to Commonwealth because they help us put a finger on the pulse of the industry. We specialize in all things power, so it is in our best interests to thoroughly understand the state of the industry at any point in time. But it is more than that. We also need to be reminded of where we came from and where the industry is headed in both the short and long terms.
The IEEE PES T&D Conference and Exposition gives us the opportunity to connect directly with others in our industry. Not only do we have the opportunity to present what's important to us, but we can also see what others are doing. We can connect all the dots to better understand why it all matters.
The Future Looks Promising
It would be impossible for us to detail everything we learned and experienced in Anaheim this past May. Needless to say, we are still trying to absorb it all. We can tell you that, based on what we saw at the conference, the future of power generation and distribution looks promising. Between new technologies, new players, and a renewed vision for transforming how we produce and utilize power, a lot of exciting things lie ahead.
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