A Remote and On-Site Educational Tool to Improve the Learning Process of Electrical Power Distribution and Utilization Systems

In this paper, the development of an educational tool to improve the learning process about electrical power distribution and utilization systems in power system courses is presented. Usually, power system courses cover several concepts from the generation of electrical energy, transportation, interconnection, transformation, protection, distribution to final consumption. Most concepts are taught using theoretical circuit analysis, mathematical models and simulations in the classroom and laboratories. To improve the learning of some concepts, some technical tours to power stations and substations are made whenever possible. However, experimental exercises in power system courses are very difficult to implement due to safety reasons since most power equipment operates with high voltages. To mitigate this problem and motivate students in this area, a new power system educational tool to simulate electrical power distribution and utilization systems is proposed. The proposed system was developed using a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) and other industrial equipment. The proposed pedagogical activities of the educational project and the results achieved with this new update are discussed in this study.