Explain real power, reactive power, voltage and frequency in an alternating current power system.
Oil, Gas & Energy
Power System Operation Basics for Engineers New to Electricity Grids
Introduces engineers new to electricity grids to power system fundamentals, network operation and system balancing, building the working knowledge needed to move confidently into a grid-facing role.
🗓️Duration5 training days
📚Content4 modules · 8 sessions
🎓On completionAccredited attendance certificate
About the programme
Course Overview
Engineers who trained in mechanical, process or oil and gas disciplines increasingly find themselves working alongside power system teams on electrification, renewables or grid-connection projects, without ever having studied how an electricity grid actually operates minute by minute. This course builds that foundation from first principles: real and reactive power, voltage and frequency, and why alternating current systems must be kept in balance at every instant. Participants then move outward to the physical network, covering transmission and distribution equipment, protection and switching, and the grid codes that set connection and performance requirements for generators and loads. Sessions on system balancing explain how frequency response and reserve services keep supply and demand equal in real time, and how control room engineers use SCADA and energy management systems to monitor and dispatch the network. The course closes with the operational challenges of a modern grid: integrating variable wind and solar generation, managing reduced system inertia, and forecasting demand and renewable output, so engineers new to electricity grids leave able to follow a control room conversation and contribute to a grid-connection project with confidence.
Expected Learning Outcomes
Describe the function of the main transmission and distribution network equipment.
Interpret a grid code's connection and performance requirements for a generator or load.
Analyse how frequency response and reserve services keep generation and demand in balance.
Describe how SCADA and energy management systems are used to monitor and dispatch a network.
Assess the effect of variable wind and solar generation on system operation and inertia.
Relate demand and renewable generation forecasting to day-to-day system balancing decisions.
Who Should Attend
Engineers moving from oil and gas, process or mechanical backgrounds into power-related projects.
Graduate and early-career engineers joining a transmission or distribution utility.
Project engineers working on electrification or grid-connection studies without a power background.
Technical staff supporting renewable energy or battery storage projects that connect to the grid.
Consultants and analysts who need to interpret grid codes and network studies.
Operations and maintenance staff moving into a control room or network operation role.
Course Modules
Select any module to see its sessions and points.
01Electrical Power Fundamentals for Grid Engineers
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Voltage, Current and Frequency in AC Systems
- Explain the relationship between voltage, current and frequency in an alternating current system.
- Distinguish single-phase and three-phase power supply and where each is used.
- Explain why system frequency must be held close to its nominal value at all times.
- Relate transformer turns ratio to voltage transformation across a network.
Session 2Real Power, Reactive Power and Power Factor
- Distinguish real power, reactive power and apparent power using the power triangle.
- Explain why reactive power must be managed locally rather than transported long distances.
- Relate power factor to reactive power demand and its effect on network losses.
- Identify how capacitor banks and reactors are used to manage reactive power on a network.
02Transmission, Distribution and Network Operation
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Network Topology and Equipment
- Describe the role of transformers, circuit breakers and busbars in a substation.
- Distinguish radial, ring and meshed network topologies and their reliability trade-offs.
- Explain how transmission voltage levels differ from distribution voltage levels and why.
- Identify the main causes of transmission and distribution losses on a network.
Session 2Protection and Switching
- Explain the purpose of protection relays in isolating a network fault quickly.
- Describe how a circuit breaker and protection relay work together to clear a fault.
- Explain why network switching sequences follow a strict permit and isolation procedure.
- Relate fault level and short-circuit current to switchgear rating decisions.
03System Balancing and Control
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Frequency Response and Reserve Services
- Explain how primary, secondary and tertiary frequency response services differ in speed and duration.
- Relate system inertia to how quickly frequency falls after a sudden loss of generation.
- Describe how reserve and response services are procured to cover credible network events.
- Interpret a frequency deviation event and the response actions it triggers.
Session 2SCADA, Energy Management Systems and Load Flow
- Describe how SCADA systems collect and display real-time network measurements.
- Explain what an energy management system calculates to support control room decisions.
- Interpret a simple load flow study result in terms of voltage and line loading.
- Identify the control room actions available to relieve a network constraint.
04Modern Grid Operating Challenges
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Renewable Integration and System Inertia
- Explain how variable wind and solar generation changes the pattern of system balancing.
- Relate declining system inertia to the risk of faster and larger frequency deviations.
- Describe how synthetic inertia and fast frequency response help compensate for lost inertia.
- Identify curtailment and constraint management as short-term responses to network limits.
Session 2Balancing Markets and Demand Forecasting
- Explain how a balancing market allows a system operator to procure flexibility close to real time.
- Describe the inputs used to forecast electricity demand over different time horizons.
- Explain how weather forecasts feed into short-term wind and solar generation forecasts.
- Relate forecast error to the reserve capacity a system operator chooses to hold.
What the participant receives
4 course modules
A structured syllabus
8 training sessions
across 5 days
32 detailed points
Applied, detailed content
Accredited attendance certificate
On completing the programme
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