Top Power Engineering Companies for Job Seekers?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around identifying the largest and most reputable power engineering companies globally, particularly for job seekers who have majored in power engineering. Participants explore various sectors within power engineering, including technology suppliers and utility companies, while considering the implications of recent industry trends.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants inquire about the specific area of power engineering, such as AC mains power distribution versus power supply and power electronics.
  • A participant shares their personal experience working on SCADA systems in an electric utility, highlighting the practical applications of power engineering.
  • There is a distinction made between companies that supply technology (e.g., GE, ABB, Siemens) and those that utilize it for energy generation and distribution (e.g., Exelon, Entergy).
  • Concerns are raised about the reduction of staff in large companies and the shift of utilities towards transmission and distribution (T&D) roles.
  • Participants discuss the current trend towards Smart Grid technology as a significant area in power engineering.
  • One participant seeks clarification on which companies are the largest employers for those specializing in power electronics and related fields.
  • A list of major companies in power generation technology is provided, including General Electric, ABB, and various utilities across the US, Europe, and Asia.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express varying views on what constitutes the "best" companies, with no consensus reached on specific criteria for evaluation. Multiple competing perspectives on the types of companies and sectors within power engineering remain evident.

Contextual Notes

Participants mention the difficulty in defining the "best" companies due to differing criteria, such as generating capacity or customer base, and the evolving nature of the industry.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be useful for recent graduates in power engineering, professionals seeking job opportunities in the field, and individuals interested in the current trends and major players in the power engineering sector.

carvinrose
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Hi,

What are the biggest and best power engineering companies to work for(worldwide)? I have majored in power engineering.

Thanks
 
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carvinrose said:
Hi,

What are the biggest and best power engineering companies to work for(worldwide)? I have majored in power engineering.

Thanks

Welcome to the PF. What kind of power engineering? Do you mean like AC Mains power distribution over the grid, or power supply and power electronics (amplifiers)? What kind of classes go into a major in power engineering?
 
berkeman said:
Welcome to the PF. What kind of power engineering? Do you mean like AC Mains power distribution over the grid, or power supply and power electronics (amplifiers)? What kind of classes go into a major in power engineering?

Well mainly control and instrumentation, power electronics, scada, plc all these things are my main interests. Like if someone did vlsi,micro electronics they can apply intel, ibm... so i wanted to know which are the biggest in power sector.
 
I just happened to drop by from the street into a major electric utility here in Kansas (long ago) and they needed someone to implement a SCADA for the first time. At the time I didn't even know what SCADA meant. Anyway, for some reason they hired me. There were 5 engineers and a draftsman in this newly formed department. I was assigned to do the tie-line substation remote interfaces (to monitor Watts, Vars, Amps, etc for ACE control) and the power plant remote interfaces (to do generation control). It took me about two years to have everything in place when I first turned on the Automatic Generation software. Then the fun began in the tuning process.

BTW There were 15 tie-line substations (up to 340KV) and, if I remember correctly, about 10 generators (up to 720MW)
 
carvinrose said:
Hi,

What are the biggest and best power engineering companies to work for(worldwide)? I have majored in power engineering.

Thanks
By power engineering companies, is one referring to those that supply the technology (e.g., GE, ABB, Siemens, Alstom, . . . ) or those which utilize the technology to generate and/or transmit/distribute energy (utilities like Exelon, Entergy, EdF, GdF Suez, . . . )?

Many large companies have reduced or are reducing staff in order to improve profitability. Some/many utilities have shed generation to become T&D locally, while larger utilities and independent/merchant power producers have assumed the generation and large grid operations.

It's relatively easy to define biggest in terms of generating capacity or customers served, but it's difficult to define best. Best in what terms?

The hot area at the moment is Smart Grid technology.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_grid_in_the_United_States
http://www.energy.gov/news2009/8216.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_grid

There are numerous suppliers and users of the technology. SG is an extension/advancement of SCADA technology.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
There are numerous suppliers and users of the technology. SG is an extension/advancement of SCADA technology.
I bet industrial power users like steel smelting companies would have a hard time with this. Since there load changes are so huge. :devil:

However there is "load shed". But that is only used in extreme situations.
 
Ok let me clarify even further.

If someone does RF, Electro magnetics, Signal Processing etc they are hired by Defense companies. If someone does micro-electronics, VLSI/VHDL etc they get hired by Intel,IBM,AMD etc. So i did power electronics, power quality and condition monitoring, energy systems etc. So which are the biggest companies to work for in these fields? General Electric>?? what else?
 
I named some of the biggest.

In terms of producers (or manufacturers, suppliers) of power generation technology, General Electric (GE, US), ABB Group (Sweden/Switzerland), AEG (Germany), Alstom (France/UK), Siemens (Germany), Mitsubishi, Hitachi, Toshiba, Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, . . . . are some of the biggest.

Then there are the users of power generation/distribution technology - basically private/public utilities.

US - Exelon, Entergy, Progress Energy, Dominion, Duke (Power/Energy), Constellation, Xcel, AEP, Southern Co, TVA, National Grid, Edison Electric, Ameren, Dynegy, PPL Group, . . .

Some electrical utilities are listed as Utilities: Gas & Electric,
See - http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2009/industries/143/index.html

others are listed as Energy
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2009/industries/165/index.html


Europe - EdF, GdF Suez, E.ON, RWE, Vattenfall, Iberinco, . . . .

Asia - Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), Kansais Electric Power Co. (KEPCO), Korean Electric Power co (KEPCO), Taiwan Power Co, (TaiPower), . . . .
 
Thanks for that, its good enough. i will apply soon
 

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