News

Four undergraduate students in the Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science have solved a technical problem for local PNGC Power. The students developed a unit that allows remote switching controlled through the Internet between power sources and metering points—enabling PNGC to provide the right amount of electricity for 160,000 customers in seven western states.

“This team of young people brought the formidable combined power of intellect and work ethic to bear on a knotty technical problem with great success,” says Kevin Watkins, PNGC Power’s vice president for engineering. “This work is a great help to us.”

Currently in use by PNGC, this new ability to switch remotely gives the company necessary and efficient access to isolated, unstaffed sites where the metering points are located. In the past PNGC had to send crews to each of its 80 metering points, which was both costly and time-consuming. With the new approach, PNGC personnel can monitor and control the power distribution units from their offices using an ordinary Web browser.

The electrical and computer engineering students who developed the remote switch unit are Joey Baranski, Andreas Greisel, Jeremy Bynum, and Josef Lotz.