Meeting Details

Grounding, Bonding, and the National Electric Code for Amateur Radio Operators

Date: Thursday, September 28^th, 2017

Location: SRP Information Services Building (ISB), 1600 N Priest Dr, Tempe, AZ 85281

Speaker: Andy Keels, SRP

Topic: "Grounding, Bonding, and the National Electric Code for Amateur Radio Operators"

In this presentation Andy Keels discusses the fundamentals of grounding and bonding, as described by the national electric code, and the challenges associated with grounding and bonding where frequencies from 0Hz to 1 GHz are in play.

Speaker Bio:
B.S. E.E. focused on Power Generation & Transmission Georgia Institute of Technology
M.B.A. University of Phoenix
Registered Professional Engineer in Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, & Texas
Member IEEE PES Switchgear Committee
Member IEEE PES Energy Storage & Stationary Battery Committee
Member of NEC and NESC working group for stationary battery codes

Previously Employed with:
Hitachi High Voltage Breakers, Inc.
Siemens Energy & Automation

Worked at Salt River Project since 2006
At Salt River Project he works in the substation electrical apparatus engineering dept.
He is principally responsible for ensuring the reliability of all the equipment that supports the operation of SRP’s protective relay systems.
He is responsible for sizing and specifying equipment for DC standby power systems; designing and writing procurement specifications for 15-38kV substation metal-clad switchgear; performing equipment failure investigations, and writing root-cause analysis studies for substation transformers, circuit breakers, and switchgear.

Amateur Radio Experience
He has held an FCC Commercial Radio Operator License for 22 years and an FCC Amateur Radio License for 27 years. Building and working with amateur radio repeater installations on mountain tops and building roofs has been a passionate hobby of his for over 25 years. The grounding and bonding system of all radio stations is critical to its safety and operational performance. He regularly mentors amateur radio operators on the subject of RF grounding and bonding and the National Electric Code.