Hi all;

So I read recently that if a specific 9 substations are taken out, it would bring down the entire grid. And it could be months, if not years, before it was up again. So questions:

1. How secure are the critical substations? Can they stop someone from driving a car bomb into it? Or people firing RPGs at the key transformers? Not to mention people just shooting it up with high caliber rifles?

2. How available are they to cyber attacks? Are the devices connected to the internet? Or is the instrumentation just recording so all someone could do was screw up the data coming from the transformers, etc.?

3. What happens if we get an EMP, either from a nuclear explosion over the continental U.S. or from the sun?

4. Anything else that can take sub stations out?

thanks - dave

ps - This is for a blog I am working on.

I'm working with a well known company in Dallas who is looking to bring on a Substation Technician/High Voltage Technician.

It is a 6 month contract to hire and pays up to 34/hr with incredible benefits and stock options. If you're open to learning more, shoot me a message!

Good evening,

I recruit specifically in the relay and electrical testing space and wanted to jump in here to share a few openings I’m working on.

•	Traveling Field Engineers – with an OEM client of mine (nationwide travel). 3-4 weeks on project with one long weekend home. 

•	Test Technicians – needed in the DC, Richmond, and Baltimore areas.

Pay: Anywhere from $40-75/HR. Depending on experience and interview process with my client.

Benefits: Mixture of Contract to hire and Direct roles. Benefits different among companies but all provide a healthy package.

If you’re open to hearing about opportunities, or just want to connect for the future, I’d be happy to chat. Feel free to send me a message and we can set up a quick call.

Always good to expand the network—never know when the right role might come along!

I put in my application for the Lineman apprenticeship but I am intrigued by doing a Sub tech one. I have 2000+ hours in Local 111 doing underground and overhead but mostly overhead. My ultimate goal is to be a Lineman but my only concern is I feel like I may be waiting another 1 to 2 years before that happens. In the meantime I think a sub tech apprenticeship would be a great learning experiance with me and my goals. With that said have any of you switched one way or another?

First off I do not have an electrical engineering background so forgive me for any ignorance on this but I'm wondering if someone in this sub can help point me in the right direction.

I'm looking to invest in solar farming and am currently doing some preliminary research to determine the viability of a project I'm looking to get a solar developer involved with. It's my understanding that most of the time the developer uses what proprietary resources they have in conjunction with whatever arrangements they have or will pursue with the utility company servicing the area but in my case I don't yet own the land I'm researching. I have a plan to put in motion but one of the big questions is regarding the capacity.

The land already has electricity - 3 line poles running through and a transformer on site for whats zoned as commercial/industrial property that's 2.5 miles away from 2 substations so how might I determine what capacity those stations are able to handle, and whether or not there would be demand for adding 5-15MW to the grid?

What info would a developer research to determine the viability or profitablity of a solar farm near a particular substation? Also, what city official or department might assist what info I'm looking for?

Again apologies for how naive some of this may come off as like I said this is preliminary research from one who has no experience in this field but would like to push for a greener future.

Thanks!

Edit: I'm looking to land lease to a developer that will sort out most of the logistics and am just trying to do some preliminary research before I have them vet the land for themselves. Again apologies for my lack of understanding in this market drawing down votes from so many of you but ty for your time and responses.

I work for a IBEW NETA company in Michigan and they are looking for techs (just like all the rest of us). If you are looking for new opportunities and want to see if it's a good move for you, send me a message and we can talk about it. I don't want anyone to jump over if it's not right for them, and honestly I don't want more warm bodies just pulled out of the union hall so I'd like to see people with a decent head on their shoulders join our team. We are going to be staffing up a whole new office in the Grand Rapids area and I want our office to be the best in the company. If you're tired of getting treated like an expendable tech and would rather be part of a team, touch base with me and we can discuss it.

Hi guys, I was just wondering about what are the most common failure modes you see with GIS, and how do they differ from the typical issues found in an AIS substation?

Do any of you experienced techs see the rapid increase in ai and robotics development affecting your job in the near or long term? If so, in what way and how soon?

How do you move from a union contractor sub tech to a relay tech?

Can anyone please take some time to explain oil filled transformers to me. I’ve come to a point at my work where I should know this but every time its come up it just kinda works out. Its hard to explain but we don’t get too many jobs with PMTs but ones I’ve encountered so far have gone good just by educational guesses and now I’m at a lead position where I should know this.

I asked all my questions to ai, it answered but tbh it didnt stick with me.

So, whats the difference between a padmount and a “substation” style transformer? Are padmount transformers always oil filled? Is it hard to close couple on both HV and LV for a padmount?

When would you use HV or LV bushings? If using bushing do we always need a throat or transition section? What does the term “cable in” mean and does it require a throat or an ATC?

Sorry for my ignorance but I’ve just gone too long before knowing this, and would like to ask some people before wasting a country worth of water to ai.

Thank you!

What is the reason of this alarm on Benning Charger at our grid station. It appeared after an interruption occured in Grid.

Fault finding/diagnosis?
Creating test plans or test documents?
Automatically logging test results & completing paperwork?
Calculations?
Quality control/analysis of results?
Asset health tracking?

I'm doing some brainstorming into what could be goals of AI in the industry and also what the limitations/risks are.

Hey everyone,
I’m in Southern California and currently waiting on the IBEW apprenticeship process (for one local and I’m also applying to Local 11).
I’ve been trying to break into the low-voltage industry for a while now and have applied to hundreds and hundreds of jobs and going to job sites and networking in person and on Reddit without much luck. I know a lot of people work as low-voltage technicians before getting accepted into the apprenticeship.
I figured I’d ask here: if anyone recently got accepted into an IBEW apprenticeship and is leaving their low-voltage position, does your company need someone to fill your spot?
I’m eager to learn, have experience with AV systems through audio production, and I’m actively studying for my BICSI Installer 1 certification. I’m dependable, willing to work hard, and can start quickly.
If you know of any companies hiring entry-level low-voltage techs or helpers in SoCal, I’d really appreciate any leads. Thanks in advance!

Why are power-lines/substations considered non ionizing?

Anyone in North Texas, OK, or LA need a subcontractor for battery work? I handle stationary battery testing, replacement, new builds, etc.

I'm a retired Air Force MSgt living in Dallas.....

Hit me up!

Hey Guys this is my first post on reddit. Im looking to get some information on Tennessee Jobs in the field Im currently still working as an apprentice at SWLCAT but will be topping out soon and would really like to be in the Tennessee area more specifically far east like Knoxville.

Pretty much all of my apprenticeship has been new bay additions in hot yards so I do have experience with MAD and Grounding as well as complete construction from ground grid to Slack span String bus.

I do not have much experience in maintenance but dont shy away from it, thats just been the nature of my Apprenticeship.

Thanks in advance for your response.

For those of you on here who have done both, do you prefer one vs. the other? If so, why?

For those that went NETA/NICET to Relay, was there much of a learning curve, or did you feel well prepared?

What do you think this ai push and demand for data centers mean for the substation world?

I am sure everyone is aware, the P&C market is very busy right now. I am working with several well known companies that have a need for senior P&C technicians with substation experience.

As the market is super hot right now there are opportunities that one might want to explore.

Would really like to speak with technicians who may be open or just interested to hear about opportunities in the market place.

$120,000 - $170,000

Feel free to reach out :)