Degree: Engineering Science
University: Auckland
Division: Operations
Team: Grid and Systems Operations
Over the summer, I had the privilege of working with the Grid and Systems Operations teams at Transpower. This team is responsible for managing the operational duties and coordination of electricity transmission throughout New Zealand.
In my role, I supported the control rooms and helped facilitate their ability to maintain power supply. Our control rooms operate in real-time, 24/7, 365 days a year, ensuring the stability and security of the New Zealand transmission grid.
I created reports on the team’s workload, analysing call volumes, test plans, and outage windows. Additionally, I investigated new technologies for external notifications to assess their effectiveness in meeting the control room’s needs. I also explored data collection and representation for rolling outages, among other tasks.
Throughout this experience, I utilized and further developed my skills in SQL, Power BI, Python, and Excel. I also gained extensive knowledge about New Zealand’s power system.
Overall, my time at Transpower has been nothing short of spectacular. It was an incredible opportunity to apply and expand my skill set while gaining a deeper understanding of electricity and the complexity of keeping the lights on. Beyond the technical experience, the supportive and collaborative culture at Transpower, along with the incredibly knowledgeable and friendly people I had the pleasure of working with, made this experience even more enriching.