Sreeram Vengayil is a young engineer at Central Power Research Institute (CPRI), India’s most powerful organization dedicated to applied research in electrical power engineering to assist the electrical industry. He is a member of Bureau of Indian standards (ETD-53), sectional committee on standardization of management of power assets. He actively participates in the IEEE PES task forces on ageing switch gear and solid state transformers. He is also an active CIGRE member for the national study committees A2 and A3.

Let’s start the interview!

Q. Tell us about yourself

Q. What inspired you to join this sector?

Q. Can you elaborate why?

Another thing is that the carbon footprint reduction and sustainability will also become trendy in power equipment manufacturing and management. The industry will have to account fir each and every decision. Already the transformer industry works with ester oils and switchgear industry is introducing SF6 alternatives. Increasing the life of power equipment would reduce the need for new ones and increasing their efficiency would reduce the need for more units of electricity.

Sreeram: Reliability is a property of the system, by which it is guaranteed that it can perform its duties. It is the comprehensive idea that is the pinnacle of thought in asset management. Maintenance is one aspect of reliability. Maintenance enhances reliability. From breakdown maintenance to condition-based maintenance, we have arrived at the reliability-centered maintenance.

Q. What is the best piece of advice you would give to a junior professional to succeed in your sector?

Q. What is something nobody tells you, but you wish you knew earlier?

Sreeram: Internships are important! Before you commit to any area and take up a permanent position, it is important to do and internship and get an idea about the nature of work and workplace. A software development environment would be very different from a nuclear power plant or a transformer manufacturing firm. Some environments may suit us while others may not. The perception of a firm from outside may ne entirely different from what is actually happening in the inside.

Q. Can you recommend any books or media?

Sreeram: CIGRE guides and brochures are the most comprehensive source of information in the area of power systems. They cover almost all the relevant areas and deal with all the aspects. They are usually prepared by the international team of experts and this fact is reflected in their amazing clarity. They give very strong foundation in an area, thus enabling your to build further.

When we hit the ceiling with our physics-based models, it is the data, its black-box model and AI/ML that will help us to move forward in these areas.

Sreeram Vengayil


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