Kirissa Alicia Chang Freitas was born and raised in Kula on the island of Maui. She attended and graduated from Kamehameha Schools Maui Campus in 2022. She is currently a third-year undergraduate at San Jose State University in California where she is pursuing a degree in Electrical Engineering. In her free time, she enjoys reading, swimming, and working on various projects related to her major. Her passion which drives her career goal of working in high voltage engineering is sustainability. She hopes to find ways to improve our energy production in an efficient and sustainable manner.
Home Island: Maui, Hawai‘i
High School: Kamehameha Schools Maui Campus
Institution when accepted: San Jose State University
Site: Hawaiian Electric, Kahului, Maui
Mentor: Lenn Nakama
Project title: Drafting Relay Network Diagrams for MECO Substations
Project Abstract:
Protection relays are crucial specialized devices that detect faults or abnormalities in power systems, ensuring a safe and operable power grid by disconnecting power during issues or excessive usage. Maui Electric Company (MECO) utilizes thousands of relays to maintain a safe power grid and ensure safety; however, they do not possess a well-articulated drawing of those relays and how they communicate. This can make diagnosing issues more complicated and time-consuming, wasting valuable resources during the troubleshooting process. To improve efficiency and aid in the troubleshooting process, complete electrical drawings shall be created for some substations in Maui County that show the type of relays, their connections, and their interfaces with SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) systems, which enable remote monitoring and control by Hawaiian Electric dispatchers. These diagrams will give personnel a head start in troubleshooting and aid them in quickly gathering essential information by knowing which relays to interrogate. While the electrical diagrams are currently still in progress, they must contain the same essential information, particularly wiring details between all microprocessor relays and the main RTU. In order to make sure the designs are correct, they also have to go through multiple rounds of evaluation. This includes looking at past electrical drawings, doing a manual walk-through of the substations, and reviews from engineers within the department and in other departments such as Telecommunication and SCADA.