Importance of art & science of Power System Protection and Fault Analysis.
Prafull Jaltare
Co Founder & Instructor KNOPOWER Academy for Power System Engineering
Please see an interesting post in LinkedIn on the the recent blackout in Brazil and the importance of the art and science of Power System Protection, which is getting neglected these days as experienced Power System Protection Engineers are retiring and the new generation engineers are choosing IT and AI as their career over the core engineering subjects. See what the author says and the interesting reactions of people and their views on this post on LinkedIn which are an eyeopener.
Highlights of the above LinkedIn post
Some of the important observations made by the author are :
"Protection is one of the least visible, least understood parts of our industry. And it’s shrinking: many experienced engineers are retiring, while few newcomers are being trained to replace them."
KNOPOWER academy was precisely founded with the objective of offering an eLearning platform for providing in-depth understanding of the subject of Power System Analysis, covering fault analysis, relay setting & coordination by experienced protection engineers .
"Every relay, CT, and logic path still needs someone who deeply understands it. Skilled engineers and technicians that can design systems, read the schemes, test them, and understand what it’s really going on."That's where our complete coverage of all aspects of Power System Engineering from basic principles, reading various electrical drawings, various NEMA Device numbering, fault analysis and relay coordination & settings gives a student the deep understanding required for the subject of protection.
"That knowledge doesn’t come from a manual. It’s passed from one engineer or technician to another."
That is precisely what we also strongly feel and which is our USP as well.
"If we want a safe, reliable grid, we need to invest in protection people as much as we invest in protection technology. That means structured training, mentorship, and a clear path for new engineers to enter the field. Because without them, every system, no matter how advanced, can one day face the same vulnerability: no one left who truly understands how it’s protected. "KNOPOWER Academy offers an easy online access to a wealth of knowledge on power system basics, protection, grounding, earthing etc at affordable prices, anytime anywhere for people to get themselves trained easily and quickly. Its a one point source for complete training on all Power System Topics with many new ones in the pipe line.
Highlights of user reaction to the above LinkedIn post.
Some of the interesting reaction to the above post by other members on LinkedIn are highlighted below. Our courses precisely address these concerns of users:
" Protection is not about overcurrent, over voltage. Frequency etc. and it’s life time experience that one has to learn and adapt according to systems , which must be transferred to next generation."
KNOPOWER Academy supports a discussion forum around each course where people can post their questions and share their experience with other registered users and learn from each others experience.
"There's need for deliberate efforts to invest in building capacity in this highly specialized field. Otherwise, systems are in trouble without this invaluable skillset. While other electrical engineers might design a component, a network, etc, a protection engineer must understand the dynamic, transient behavior of the entire system—generation, transmission, distribution—under both normal and fault conditions. The role is built around anticipating and mitigating failures. This requires a deep, intuitive understanding of phasors, symmetrical components, and how faults propagate through a network. It also requires interdisciplinary knowledge: power systems, control, and digital communication. Protection is really the art on top of the "Science" gained through years of training, mentorship and experience. Young engineers, please respond to the call and take up the interesting challenge to practice real power systems engineering!"
KNOPOWER Academy covers all aspects of Power System Analysis from theory to practice with many practical tips you won't find in academic text books.
Originally published Oct 28, 2025