Argonne and the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) Establish a Joint Graduate-Level Training Program for the Korea Power Exchange (KPX)

Background: The Center for Energy, Environmental, and Economic Systems Analysis (CEEESA) has a long history of successful collaboration with South Korean energy institutions. Over the last 25+ years, jointly with the International Atomic Energy Agency, CEEESA has worked with the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) and what was then called the Korea Electric Power Company (KEPCO).

CEEESA has recently collaborated with the Korean Electric Power Research Institute (KEPRI), and is supporting a diverse number of software clients in academia, private sector, and research, including the following:

• Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., Ltd. (KHNP)
• Korea Western Power Co., Ltd. (WP)
• Korea Energy Economic Institute (KEEI)
• Seoul National University (SNU)

In 2004, KPX became interested in our EMCAS software and sent several staff members to Argonne to receive initial training and work with the model. This was followed by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in December 2005 for cooperation in the area of electricity system analysis, including power market design issues, short-term market simulations, long-term market and resource adequacy simulations, market power issues, and other electricity system-related issues. 

Argonne-IIT Joint Graduate Program in Electricity Markets: In an agreement signed on March 26, 2007, Argonne National Laboratory and the Illinois Institute of Technology are joining with the Korea Power Exchange to establish a joint training program combining training and research at Argonne with formal academic education at IIT. Under this program, KPX will send members of its technical staff to Chicago every two years to enroll in the IIT Department for Electrical and Computer Engineering. KPX staff will participate in a graduate study program while conducting applied research at Argonne. IIT has agreed to grant KPX participants credit hours of course work toward a master's degree in the form of independent study at the Center for Energy, Environmental, and Economic Systems Analysis in Argonne's Decision and Information Sciences Division. Upon completion of the program, the KPX staff will graduate with a Master of Electricity Markets.

Argonne, the Illinois Institute of Technology and the Korea Power Institute will join to provide graduate education and research in electricity markets. Signing the agreement are, from left, Darsh Wasan, vice president of international affairs of the Illinois Institute of Technology; Al Sattelberger, Argonne associate laboratory director for physical sciences and interim associate laboratory director for applied science and technology; and Soo Hun Park, chairman and chief executive officer of the Korean Power Exchange. (Download hi-rez image.)

“This agreement brings together three organizations committed to a brighter world future through stable electricity supplies,” said Al Sattelberger, Argonne associate laboratory director for physical sciences and interim associate laboratory director for applied science and technology. Argonne has collaborated with Korean energy institutions for more than 25 years, and has collaborated with IIT, employing graduate students to work with Argonne researchers on power systems analysis.

“Given the recent upheavals in global energy markets, the trend toward electricity restructuring, and a generally renewed focus on energy, electricity and environmental issues,” Sattelberger said, "it is our hope that this agreement will strengthen our joint research activities in these areas that are so vital to our countries and the world, expand our successful collaboration with KPX and IIT for the benefit of all 3 institutions, and establish a Trans-Pacific partnership for years to come."

Also attending the meeting was Bruce Hamilton, the president of ADICA Consulting LLC, who is the licensed distributor for Argonne's power market analysis tools and was instrumental in establishing the joint training program. Hamilton praised the agreement as “a major achievement which provides an opportunity for professionals from utility companies, electricity system and market operators, and regulatory agencies around the world to develop a deeper understanding of electricity markets through formal education at IIT together with the use of Argonne's innovative agent-based modeling software to analyze the impact of alternative market rules on the behavior of market participants.”

The Korea Power Exchange was founded in April 2001 as a core organization of the newly introduced electricity market following the Korean government's electricity industry restructuring plan. With responsibility for electricity market and system operation in Korea, KPX operates Asia's largest competitive electricity market and the second largest power grid in the region.

IIT is a private, Ph.D.-granting university with programs in engineering, science, psychology, architecture, business, design and law. One of the 16 institutions that make up the Association of Independent Technological Universities, IIT offers preparation for professions that require technological sophistication. The university and its contract research affiliate, IIT Research Institute, have an annual research budget of $130 million. Research strengths include fluid dynamics and aerospace, synchrotron radiation science, environmental engineering and regulatory policy, polymer science and recycling, food safety and technology, and transportation and infrastructure.

Model Transfer, Training, Capacity Building: CEEESA has extensive expertise and experience in electricity market analysis and capacity building by assisting our software users around the world in the form of training and implementation support. Over the last 25+ years, we have conducted training courses in many locations around the world and have successfully trained over 1300 experts from more than 90 countries in the use of our tools. Our models are actively in use in many of these countries.

Training courses and workshops can be tailored to your specific needs and can last anywhere between a few days to a couple of weeks. Courses may be held at Argonne's facility in the Chicago area or at your facilities.

Click here for information on past and upcoming training courses.

For more information, contact contact CEEESA