Image: EPECentre scholars in the Control Centre with Orion Operations Manager, Stuart Kilduff
On 7 March 2019, 25 EPECentre scholars and staff visited Orion’s offices in Christchurch. The visit involved a combination of talks and a walk around the Control Centre. Orion engineers presented the design and operation of the system with a view of reliability and resilience. Experiences and impact of the Christchurch earthquakes on the electricity infrastructure, uptake of enabling technologies and progressive approach accounting for the challenges to come were shared by the team.
The walk around of the Control Centre gave scholars the opportunity to observe the Orion electricity system in action. By observing the demand and supply profile it was possible to see the ripple control, a demand management system, in operation. One group of students had a unique opportunity to observe the occurrence of a network fault and reconfiguration of the circuit to maintain supply.
The tour provided an ideal opportunity for interaction between the Orion engineers, the EPECentre scholars and staff, evolving connections between UC and the industry.
The EPECentre is grateful to Orion for their time and effort in hosting the event.
Scholarships
In 2019, the EPECentre, on behalf of the Power Engineering Excellence Trust (PEET), has awarded:
- Eight new scholarships for those studying in UC Engineering Intermediate. They have been selected out of 100 applications of talented high school students.
- Four new EPECentre Scholarship recipients in First Professional Year in Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
- Twenty continuing scholars in First, Second and Third Pro.
These students have all demonstrated an interest in Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Electric Power Engineering.
PEET is a charitable trust established in 2002, with electricity sector industry members. Its mission is to promote and support the education of power engineers and the study of power engineering as a field of excellence in New Zealand. To become a member please contact the EPECentre at info@epecentre.ac.nz.
