A one-day seminar on Switchgear and Protection System was organized by Electrical Engineering Department in collaboration with Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Development of College of Science and Technology, Phuentsholing Bhutan.

Mr. Cheten Tshering, Sr. Divisional Manager, Substation Maintenance Division, Transmission Department, Bhutan Power Corporation Ltd, Phuentsholing, Chhukha was the guest speaker.

The lecture focused on substation overview, introduction to switchgears and discussion on Gas Insulated Substation (GIS) and Air Insulated Substation (AIS). As the transformer is the most expensive component in power transmission and distribution, providing a good protection scheme for the transformer is of outmost importance. To rejuvenate the audience, he said, “Students can write and submit assignments without examining in college but in the field, such attitude of working personnel can jeopardise the system and would result in huge financial losses”. The importance of power system protection was discussed at length covering relay functions and relay coordination principle.

A practical demonstration along with calculations were organized to investigate the real time working of relays and relay coordination principle. One of the students, Mr. Phuntsho Dorji who is serving as a chief councillor of the college, expressed his gratitude for the immense benefitting knowledge shared by the guest lecturer and field knowledge embedded with practical demonstration.

Students are very grateful to the tutors of Electrical Department for arranging the session and are looking forward to more of such learning programs related to our field. The takeaway message from the session dawned something like this, “Experience without theory is blind, but theory without experience is mere intellectual play” by Immanuel Kant.