Up to date news in the electrical engineering consultancy business. Premium Power look back on 2015 and consider the advancements in arc flash training, new grid code requirements in the renewable industry, power quality challenges, and new software to help manage on site safety called SafeSite Live.

1. Annual Review 2015
●
Year Overview
●
News & Updates
●
What's New in Renewables
●
Guide to PPE Glove Protection
●
New Recruits
●
Arc Flash Trend Update
●
Power Quality 2015 Trends
●
Electrical Design Overview
●
SafeSite Development
●
Graduate Reports
●
New Offices and Entry into UK Market

2. Welcome to our review of 2015 where we
take a breather, look back and absorb the
year’s happenings.
We kicked off the year by moving our HQ
to new offices, the first we have owned –
the Premium Power building at 2A Fingal
Bay Business Park. This gives us the
physical space to grow the business. This
has allowed us to accommodate six new
staff members. 2015 also saw us open our
first office abroad in Birmingham, UK.
Our financial year finished in May and this
shows an increase in sales of 20% with a
steady increase in demand for power
analysis services, particuarly for
industrial and data centre clients and grid
code compliance for the renewable
industry.
Managing renewable power generation
projects for high tech manufacturers is still
busy, with solar projects growing in
demand after an initial surge in wind
turbine projects.
Our commitment in the advancement of
power generation from renewable energy
sources continued this year and we were
pleased to accept the invitation to join the
technical development committee of the
Irish Solar Energy Association.
Electrical safety services are in high demand
with a particular emphasis on the provision of
tools which allow clients manage electrical
risks. You can read more later in this review
how items such as arc flash, required PPE,
electrical risk assessments, permitting,
employee training and competence can all be
managed using a new software product called
SafeSite.
Our continued focus on excellence was
demonstrated during our external audits for
ISO9001, OHSAS18001 as well as a new
accreditation achieved in October with our
Achilles UVDB verification.
Our reputation has truly extended globally
this year. We have just kicked off our first
project in South America having worked on
power analysis projects in Finland, Belgium,
Holland, UK and Italy during the year.
Our hard working team deserve great credit
for their achievements this year and are
ambitious for the future as we continue to
provide high-class service to our clients and
develop the best in breed engineers.
A year of growth
Paula O'Neill
December 2015

3. PREMIUM POWER NOMINATED
FOR SFA ENERGY AWARD
Premium Power was delighted to be
selected as a finalist in the Small Firm’s
Association annual awards in 2015. This was
the first year the company entered the
awards and beat off stiff competition to be
one of the 33 finalists named.
Nominated in the energy and environmental
sustainability category Premium Power
attended the business showcase in Dublin
Castle and the awards themselves in
February. Managing Director of Premium
Power Paula O’Neill said: “This was a great
networking event for Premium Power and
we were delighted to meet with other
businesses on a growth path for 2015.”
The event was closed by Minister for Jobs,
Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton
and business presenter and CEO of
Insomnia Bobby Kerr.
By working with a number of high profile
clients, Premium Power is at the forefront of
implementing the most ground-breaking
electrical procedures in industry. In 2014
and 2015 Premium Power worked with MSD
Ballydine to take their worldwide issued
safety procedures and implement them
locally on site.
The program was nominated for an award
in the health and safety a category ward at
the Pharma Industry Awards in October
2015 and is being rolled out across other
MSD sites. Premium Power were delighted
to attend the awards which recognise
excellence throughout the industry.
MSD FINALIST
IN PHARMA
AWARDS
An awarding year in 2015

4. Famous in China!
Our former electrical engineering
intern Muyang Liu popped back to
Premium Power offices in October with
a camera crew in tow! Muyang was
featured on International Channel
Shanghai on a programme called 'All
About Going Abroad', which is due to
be broadcast in the Spring so look out
for us! Here she is with her Premium
Power mentor Andrew Hogan.
We were delighted to receive
multiple 100% grades in our
recent audit of UVDB
verification, powered by
Achilles. Achilles UVDB allows
for a transparent supplier
selection for tender
opportunities and aims to help
utility companies manage risk
within their supply chain and
comply with EU Procurement
Legislation.
Managing Director Paula
O’Neill said: “We went through
a rigorous assessment and
worked hard to prove we we
met the required standards.
Our award shows our
commitment and the
effectiveness of our employees
when on customer sites, in the
areas of healthAnd safety,
quality, CSR and environment.”
Audit Success
Senior Project Engineers Michal Sopocko and Andrew Hogan
travelled to LA in the United States in the summer, to carry out
advanced SKM power systems analysis training. This training
qualifies the engineers to train others. Always on the job!
The guys hit LA

5. In the past year we have seen
significant growth in our renewable
integration services sector. We
predicted this surge from two years
ago when looking at the large amount
of wind due to be connected to the
grid at concentrated parts of the
transmission system.
Premium Power invested in tailored
power system software licences such
as DigiSILENT PowerFactory to meet
the forthcoming demand. Extensive
training with these new tools has been
provided to bring the engineers up to
speed in carrying out complex
modelling exercises.
This has significantly strengthened the
company’s ability to provide complex
technical services such as harmonic
studies, fault ride through, transformer
inrush, voltage flicker, voltage
imbalance, transient stability and
active/reactive studies.
More stringent EirGrid requirements have
recently come to light with respect to power
quality when new facilities are seeking
connection to the grid. This includes
compliance to the specified transmission
system impedance loci at the point of
connection.
Premium Power has the expertise to help
clients comply with these onerous regulations
using our highly trained and experienced
staff. We have also applied these studies to
renewable projects in the UK. A thorough
understanding of the UK grid codes is
required as they differ somewhat to the ones
applied in Ireland.
More recently we have begun applying our
specialised services to the solar industry
which is predicted to be a large growth area
in 2016. The integration of solar in both the
UK and Ireland also requires specialised
studies to enable grid code compliance. With
the ongoing largescale integration of
renewables onto the grid it is expected that
our renewable design department will see
continued growth through 2016 and beyond.
Paul Dempsey looks at
the effect new grid
code requirements
have had on Premium
Power's work in the
renewable
integration sector

6. New Recruits
It was a year of expansion at Premium Power with five new electrical
engineers starting, a marketing manager and a health and safety guru
Nicola Cassidy has a
background in press,
PR and journalism and
looks after Premium
Power's events,
communications and
social media.
Leo Fitzgerald took
part in Premuim
Power's graduate
programme and is
now a full time
engineer. He
specialises in solar.
Graham Burns is an
engineering
graduate of Napier
University,
Edinburgh and
specialises in power
systems and
renewables.
Brian O'Shea
previously worked as
as an O&M engineer
in the solar
generation, Cardiff. He
is a graduate of
Napier University,
Edinburgh.
Garrett Moran ran his
own business for a
decade before
returning to study to
become an engineer.
He is passionate about
sustainable energy.
John Conway holds
a masters in
Sustainable Energy
from University
College Cork and
has a background in
the automative
industry.
Marketing Manager
Electrical Engineer
Electrical Engineer
Electrical Engineer
Electrical Engineer
Electrical Engineer
Arc Man was recruited by
Premium Power as a special
mascot for electrical health and
safety. He will be attending all our
shows and making special
appearances in 2016. You can
follow the adventures of Arc Man
on our Twitter account
@premium_power
Meet Arc Man

7. Advancement in Arc
Flash Awareness
Premium Power held three open training
seminars in 2015 in Galway, Dublin and Cork,
following on from our event in Belfast in
December 2014. All events were well attended
by a number of different companies seeking
information on the dangers of arc flash, arc
flash legislation, arc flash mitigation
techniques and training.
Premium Power Electrical Projects Lead
Engineer Andrew hogan said knowledge and
interest in arc flash and electrical safety is
growing as shown by the large turn out all
the events this year.
“We are seeing a better awareness of arc flash
and the hazards it presents. Events like these
help educate those most at risk of arc flash
hazards and those who have the power, such
as health and safety
safety officers and maintenance managers,
to introduce risk assessments into their own
workplaces.” Premium Power hold regional
training events throughout Ireland and the
UK. To find out about our next upcoming
event email info@premium-power.com
Some of the Premium Power team at our
arc flash event in Dublin
On Site Training
Talk to us about organising specific electrical safety training at your
facility. In 2015 Premium Power visited over a dozen pharmaceutical
and advanced manufacturing facilities to deliver bespoke on site
training, in areas such as arc flash, electrical safety procedures and
PPE. Due to client demand our training package has been altered to
include training on risk assessments and how arc flash hazards can
be incorporated into standard electrical risk assessments.
0ur new updated arc flash brochure is available on www.premium-power.com

8. Arc Flash 2015 Update
Arc flash risk hazard analysis
still remains greatly
underdeveloped in Europe.
As Europeans, the normal
trend for carrying out arc
flash hazard analysis was to
continuously monitor what
our colleagues in the US were
doing and seek guidance
from them. The approach to
safe working in Europe has
always been risk assessments,
designing out the hazard and
implantation of auxiliary
control measures. This was
not the case in the US.
For those in Europe who
managed to carry out arc
incident energy calculations,
the next steps were often
blurred because our US
counterparts had only one
fixed answer following an arc
flash study – PPE.
Adhering to the legislation
and guidelines in Europe,
Premium Powers stance on
PPE is that it should only be
applied once all other
engineering and/or
administrative control measures have been
considered and implemented. Bridging the gap
between our US multinational clients, corporate
health and safety requirements and the local health
and safety requirements in Ireland has always been a
challenge.
However 2015 saw a major shift on how arc flash
hazard analysis is carried out globally. The new NFPA
70E Standard was released containing significant
changes that greatly impacted all parties on both
sides of the Atlantic. One significant change was the
need for arc flash risk assessments. For the first time
it was acknowledged that calculating incident
energies was no longer sufficient. Adopting the
European approach, it is now an NFPA requirement
that detailed electrical risk assessments take place
once a study has been performed.
Andrew Hogan discusses how the
US is still ahead when it comes to
Arc Flash analysis, but that
Europe is catching up
Michael Sopocko and Paul Dempsey
pictured at IWEA's Autumn conference

9. 2015 was the busiest year yet
for the power quality
department in Premium
Power. The variety of
projects we participated in,
saw a further expansion of
our power quality team and
a growth in expertise.
Premium Power are well
known harmonic experts. We
provided a significant
number of studies for
pharmaceutical and medical
devices semiconductor,
plastic extrusion and food
industry clients in 2015.
This year a substantial
growth was recorded in the
utility and renewable sector
as harmonic studies became
compulsory with the new
grid requirements for
connection of embedded
generation. As a result we
are also sizing and designing
more filtering solutions.
This year was busy too for
custom projects.
Premium Power collaborated with inventors,
start-ups and well established equipment
designers in 2015. We have tested
prototype generators, participated in
filtering design for tidal turbine and carried
out trouble shooting for a test hybrid facility
connected at the generation level.
Increased demand for power quality studies
resulted in expansion of our software
capabilities (new Power Factory DigSILENT
and PSCAD modules) and growth of the
team: Leo, Brian and John. We have also
introduced a new range of power quality
analysers – DRANETZ HDPQ, to be able to
meet expectations of even most demanding
clients.
Extensive market research, carried out in the
early months of 2015, allowed us to
introduce new brands and power quality
equipment types to the market. We have
successfully commissioned a number of
Schaffner Active Harmonic Filters, provided
PFC and filtering solutions from
Alstom/Nokian and established cooperation
Power Quality
Challenges
Michal Sopocko is Engineering Manager with Premium Power
with Merus
Power, TDK and
Enspec.
Not bad for one
year.

10. Premium Power are known for many
specialist technical electrical
engineering services however our
capabilities as a one stop shop for
electrical systems design
consultancy is only beginning to be
known in the wider industry. This
year we formed partnerships with
our clients and electrical contractors
to deliver challenging MV strategic
system planning, Primary LV
Distribution system upgrades and
also UPS system projects. These
projects were mainly for clients
operating in the pharmaceutical and
manufacturing sectors.
Robbie Gilbert
Design Engineer
Ferroro Rocher at the ready! We were delighted to welcome a delegation of
African Ambassadors in Summer 2015. The representatives were in Ireland to
discuss the growing power systems market in Africa
It is clear that the electrical industry is
becoming more aware of the need to
combat electrical hazards through
good design practices.
Safety, risk management and reliability
have joined energy efficiency in
electrical system management
priorities for our clients in 2015.
In the recent past, cost competitiveness
may have been prioritised due to
budgetary constraints, but now there is
a longer term value perspective taken.
Electrical hazards and risk management
are now important factors.
Electrical Design
International Visitors

11. SafeSite-Live is a safety,
permitting and contractor
management software.
The software has been
designed to be a flexible
and web enabled service for
facilities looking to improve
their site safety, task
planning and contractor
management.
The contractor
management systems
allows users to see the tasks
scheduled, to choose
specific employees, and
view and download
important documents.
SafeSite-Live ensures that
contractor employees are
competent to work on your
site and gives site-wide
access to information.
During our onsite work
with customers we
noticed a gap in the
market for customisable
safety permit and
contractor management
software.
Alan O'Kelly
SafeSite Developer
Efficient management of electrical permitting, PPE, competency and
contractor management.
SafeSite-Live is a site aware document management tool.
It can store any documentation including schematics, Single
Line Diagrams, Arc Flash information and much more in a
single location.
Interactive graphics shows electrical equipment on single
line drawings or physical locations. SafeSite has been
developed with partner companies and is currently
deployed on a number of test sites.
Look out for full launch in Q1 2016.

12. Learning on the job
John McCarthy is 18 months into his 2 year graduate
programme with Premium Power. He comments on all
he has learned since leaving university.
I applied to Premium
Power’s graduate
programme because I
was interested in the
power industry. This
programme highlighted
personal and business
development as well as
technical. That appealed
to me.
I’m involved in a lot of
projects and get to
experience far more
than I might in a larger
company. I’m involved
in power quality studies,
arc flash studies and
system modelling.
We operate through a
skills matrix, so
everything I do is
recorded and you can
see my number of
different competencies
building up. It’s been a
steep learning curve. In
college you learn the
basic skills and
everything is presented
in ideal conditions.
In real life, things are
different and you have
to learn problem solving
skills.
Now in my second year,
I’ve progressed even
further, with more
responsibility,
involvement in larger
scale projects, dealing
with clients face to face
and on site. I’ve gone
from learning software
programmes to
teaching the
programme that it’s a
great opportunity. I would
see myself as working for
the next few years, building
my skill level and then
pursuing a Masters. I’m
really enjoying the
programme and if I had a
choice, I would do it, all
over again.
Premium Power turned to Rowan Atkinson in its
graduate recruitment campaign this year. The actor
holds a masters in Electrical Engineering.
New
graduates
the skills I’ve
learned.
Premium
Power is a
young,
dynamic
company. I
would say to
any graduate
student
thinking of
applying to
the Premium
Power
graduate
John McCarthy

13. As a student at Northeastern
University in Boston, MA, I have
been encouraged from the very
beginning to both study and
work in another country. This
year I had the great opportunity
to do both here in Ireland. I
spent the spring semester in
UCD, and through connections I
made there I reached out to
Premium Power, who offered me
a position as an intern for the
second half of the year. Living in
Dublin and working
at Premium Power
has been one of
the highlights of
my college career. I
gained valuable
experience in
everything from
power systems
analysis to software development, from working with
clients to working with colleagues from every kind of
background. After almost an entire year in Ireland, I have
found myself integrated into the culture, in the
workplace and out. It really has become a second home
for me. Kathleen Fownes
Graduate Growth:
An overview of Premium Power's graduate engineers
Fionn McKnight, Premium Power’s software
engineer outlines a graduate cross border
initiative he is involved in
The FUSION programme
enables organisations to
develop innovative products
by helping to fund the
employment of a high
calibre science, technology
or engineering graduate and
partnering the organisation
with a third level institute
for expertise and guidance.
I joined the programme in
September 2014. I wanted
to help develop a
software that would utilise
Premium Power’s knowledge
in electrical safety. Enter:
SafeSite Live. Alongside Alan
O’Kelly, Premium Power’s
Project Development
Manager, we have worked to
deliver a customisable
software for use in industry
to allow health and safety
and operations managers
manage their safety permits
and contractors on site. The
product is at final testing
stages and is now installed in
some major manufacturing
facilities in Ireland. FUSION has been
very successful recruiting around 100
graduates every year, many of which
now hold key senior positions in their
placement companies.
Graduates must manage and lead the
project from start to finish. We are
provided with support and guidance
from the university, meeting with our
academic advisors every month. I’ve
really enjoyed taking part in the
programme. Most of all I’ve enjoyed
taking a project from an idea, to
development to actually seeing the
software delivered and working within
industry.
Home from home

14. Given that a person’s hands are his/her most
important tools, then how might the
electrically-skilled worker protect those from
electrical burns, as a result of either an arc
flash or contact with an energised
conductor?
Arc rated PPE is determined by predicting
the potential incident energy in the event of
arc flash.
Prospective incident energy is calculated at
the generally assumed working distance of
the worker’s head and torso from the source
of a prospective arc. But what about when
workers need to place their arms closer
towards terminals or busbars?
As a rough rule of thumb, every reduction of
working distance by 50% equates
approximately to a four-fold increase in
prospective incident energy.
And so, such work will require gloves with a
much higher arc rating than that of other
items of PPE (balaclava, visor, and overall).
PPE glove protection
However, the availability of protective gloves
in terms of arc rating and insulation is limited.
Consider the case of voltage testing, either for
the purpose of proving dead or in the course
of fault-finding. The employer must balance
the need for live testing, and not least the
risks associated with not testing, with the risks
associated with testing. For example, the risks
not only to the worker testing voltage for the
purpose of proving a circuit dead, but also the
risks to others such as the mechanical
movement of electrically driven parts,
mistakenly thought to have been deenergised.
It will also be necessary to consider risks
associated with the use of protective gloves
which impair dexterity. In this regard, it will be
necessary to consider functionality in terms of
fit, grip and flexibility.
Pat MacNally works as a Compliance
Engineer with Premium Power
Social Round Up
Congratulations to
Paula O'Neill for
completing the Dublin
Marathon this year in a
very respectable time!
She has recruited
Garrett and John to join
her for a PP Team next
year!
Congratulations to
Michal Sopocko and his
wife on the birth of
their beautiful boy
Congratulations to
Andrew Hogan on his
engagement and good
news on the property
front

15. New offices & entry
into the UK Market
Premium Power opened new Dublin offices in 2015 to cater for our growing
staff numbers. We can now facilitate on-site meetings across our three
floors. Our Birmingham office opened in late 2015 and we look forward to
rolling out a number of UK events and meeting our new customers in 2016.
One of Premium Power's
major projects in 2015
was to design a new
website to showcase our
services and showcases.
Visit the new site at
www.premium-power.com
to read about how we
implement our services.
Log On
2A Fingal Bay Business Park, Balbriggan,Co Dublin, K32 W566 &
Birmingham Blythe Valley Business Park, Central Boulevard, Solihull, Birmingham B90 8AG
+353 1 8105032 / + 44 1564 711226 / info@premium-power.com / www.premium-power.com
8.