September 4, 2007

Last June, CYME hosted its yearly Users Group conference that gathered over one hundred customers. During this five-day program, the attendees gained new insight into the advanced functions of the CYME software and its flexibility to apply to specific (and evolving) power engineering needs.

The week started with the CYMCAP Users Group that was the largest so far with two days of presentations and workshops. Attendees were pleased to see that the features that are important to them get implemented as best as can possibly be done. CYME demonstrated the new cable parameters and cables in troughs add-ons included in the Version 5.0 of CYMCAP to be released this September. The cables in casing feature, to be included later this year was also presented.



Three days of the conference were dedicated to the demonstration and dialogue on the enhancements recently introduced in CYMDIST and CYMTCC; the most important additions being load profiles, network forecaster and arc flash analysis. The stability module, to be released at a later date, was also presented and discussed. And as always, an open forum was on the agenda to discuss current issues and ways of further enhancing the CYME solutions. And John Bowen of Southern Company (USA): “They listen to their clients to produce applications that will bring both improved software and provide necessary engineering tools for today's complex distribution system issues.”

The special presentations and case studies programmed for the CYMDIST-CYMTCC Users Group addressed the implementation of the CYMDIST Gateway and its potential to leverage distribution network model data, the analysis of secondary networks, and an overview of a recent study for Natural Resources Canada on the dynamic behavior of distribution systems with distributed generation.



Finally, the very popular CYMDIST-CYMTCC training sessions on the last day of the conference focused on the features of the CYME software with knowledge directly applicable to the power engineering daily work and plans; and included sessions on the newest features and capabilities of the software. David Dewulf of Hydro One (Canada) comments: “I also look forward to obtaining the newest release of CYMDIST specifically for the network forecasting module, which seems like it will provide us with an organized structure for our recommended projects, load transfers and planned studies.”



A one-day seminar on Power Quality and Systems Harmonics was also offered during the week. More than basic, this course by Eng. Roger Bergeron, a renowned expert in power quality (PQ), power system design, and workers safety, covered the major aspects of PQ issues for power transmission and distribution sectors, including mitigation strategies. Using case studies of actual PQ problems, methods of modeling and simulation of power systems for power quality studies were also presented.



CYME thanks each of the attendees and the speakers involved in the various activities and presentations of the CYMDIST-CYMTCC Users Group, the CYMCAP Users Group and the Power Quality and Systems Harmonics seminar.

Some comments from our customers:

Steven Wilcox, NB Power:
"The 2007 User's Group Conference was very enjoyable. Understanding that there are various interests in the room, the agenda was still largely applicable and of interest to all. As always, the hospitality shown by CYME and its staff was second to none."

John Bowen, Southern Company:
"This year was the largest group of users that has ever attended the conference. The turnout shows the both the importance of the software to companies and the power of networking with other users from many different countries to discuss common issues."

Kandace Eaves, Oklahoma Gas & Electric:
"The user's group went very well. I think there is a great importance placed on user feedback which makes the product much more valuable."

Michael Born, Exelon Energy Delivery:
"The conference was useful to understand CYME's plans and priorities for enhancement of CYMDIST and to hear what issues are important to other users of CYMDIST. - It was very useful to me to compare our use of CYMDIST with other users to improve our effectiveness of the planning business process."

John Kalich, Hydro One:
"This was a well organized meeting. The format for the presentations worked well."

Joe Bonadie, PowerStream:
"It was great to meet other users and exchange ideas and experiences. This was my third year attending the Users Group and I am always amazed at the enhancements and number of new features that are added to CYMDIST every year."

Poorvi Patel, Pepco Holdings:
"This was my first users group and hopefully I'll be able to attend again. It was exciting to see the new features coming to CYME. Also, the open forum was a wonderful venue to interact with CYME personnel and people from other utilities."

Chad Showalter, American Electric Power:
"I like the format of the Users Group, allowing for opportunities to request enhancements/improvements to the software as well as training in specific aspects of the software and an introduction to new features."

Frode Trengereid, Geodata:
"The user group meeting 2007 was very useful. It is a fine combination of education, information flow and socialization."

Rick Janzen, Manitoba Hydro:
"Excellent venue. A great way to share information and gather feedback. I would recommend this User's Group to any user."

Tom Ginsbach, Portland General Electric:
"I am very new to CYMDIST and have never used CYMTCC. I found the Conference and Training sessions very useful to help me up the learning curve much faster than I would get on my own."

Sean McQueen, SaskPower:
"I always enjoy seeing the upcoming new features. The networking is always very positive as well."

Thomas Cannon, PPL Electric Utilities:
"This was my first Users Group. I thought that it was organized very well. The workshops were excellent, especially the Arc Flash analysis and both of the TCC workshops. Had all of the answers and knew TCC as well as you could expect anyone to know a program. Good job!"

David Dewulf, Hydro One:
"Being new users of CYMDIST and CYMTCC, I found this conference very useful for networking with other Veteran companies of the software. This allowed us to take many of their ideas and compile solutions for some of the simple set-up parameters that we are working towards. Specifically GIS and CYME Gateway."

John Marshall, Hydro One:
"As a representative of our GIS Dept., and an ex-Distribution Planning Engineer, I attended the conference in hopes of learning more about our options in the use of the CYME Gateway. I was not disappointed, as I found this topic to be covered quite thoroughly in the various sessions and open forum."

Peter Hoffman, Progress Energy:
"The workshops provided an excellent opportunity to have a "hand's on" experience with the new features of the CYME software. It was very good to get direct feedback from the software developers."

Tom Ginsbach, Portland General Electric:
"I am quite new at CYMCAP; therefore, I found the User Group and Training Day to be a combination of "that makes sense" and "what did he say". The sessions were very useful at getting me further up the learning curve much faster than if I were on my own."

Joe Bonadie, PowerStream:
"This was my first time attending the CYMCAP users group & training. I enjoyed meeting other CYMCAP users and share ideas and experiences. I thoroughly enjoyed the presentations by Francisco (De León) and look forward for the future development of "cables in casing" since we have a number of these installations and will be installing more in the near future."