The 78th Annual Georgia Tech Protective Relaying Conference was held at the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center in Atlanta, USA. It was a forum for presenting cutting-edge developments in protection and control systems for electric power networks. The conference gathered industry experts, utility engineers, academics, and vendors to present real-world experiences, emerging technologies, and evolving standards shaping the future of power system protection.
Sessions were organized into focused tracks covering a wide range of topics, including inverter-based resource (IBR) protection, digital substations, fault location strategies, and system reliability. Highlights included presentations on discrete wavelet transform applications for fault detection, protection methods for microgrids, and groundbreaking work in high impedance fault location and dynamic protection settings. Attention was given to compliance with NERC PRC standards and the transition to IEC 61850-based digital substation designs.
LTE networks in teleprotection and enhanced fault data analytics were also examined. Notable case studies featured sub transmission FLISR schemes, innovative recloser strategies, and comparative performance of conventional vs. process bus-based protection systems. Industry leaders presented on the digital transformation of protection and control systems, emphasizing interoperability, cybersecurity, and practical deployment lessons. The event also included student presentations, vendor exhibits, and “bedtime stories” sharing real-life protection events and lessons learned.
