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Mr. Koepfinger is Director of System Studies and Research for Duquesne Light Company. He has worked in the field of protection, communications, control and surge protection at this company since graduating with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh in 1949. He subsequently received a Master of Science from the same University in 1953.
He is a licensed professional engineer in the State of Pennsylvania and a Certified Cogeneration Professional.
During his 49 year career at Duquesne Light Co he has held many engineering and supervisory position. in the field of system planning, protective relay engineering, communication engineering and surge protection application. The application of protective relays to fossil power plants, three nuclear plants, high voltage distribution system and a 138 kV and 345 kV transmission system. He was responsible for the first large scale installation of solid state relay protection to a transmission system and the introduction of programmable controllers to the operation of substations. Other activities included the installation of the first solid state microwave system and the introduction of fiber optics for communication and protective relaying .
In his present position as the Director of System Studies and Research, he is responsible for managing the research program of the Company. This involves the development of an awareness of the importance of research activities to the welfare of the corporation. This activity includes the management of several million dollars in research each year. In addition to the managerial duties he is responsible for the conduct of special investigations of technical problems, insulation coordination, surge protection and in particular the studies of electrical transient conditions in power systems, such as the study of the characterization and management of electromagnetic fields.
Duquesne Light Company is a member of the Pennsylvania Electric Energy Research Council.
During his career, he has authored and co-authored many technical papers on power system protection distribution automation and surge protection. He was responsible for leading the development of the first standard for defining the surge withstand capability of protective relays. He served as Chairman of the IEEE Standards Board from 1974-1975 and 1978-1979 and is Member Emeritus of this Board.
He is the Chairman of Accredited Standard Committee C62 on Surge Arresters and is the United States Technical Advisor to IEC, SC37A, and SC37B. In addition he is the Secretary of IEC TC 37 fpr Surge Protective Devices. He is a member of IEC Advisory Joint Working Group 64 on Low-voltage surge protection. In addtion to these activite he is a member of the IEC Sector Board 1 Ad Hoc Working Group on Substation Automation.
He is the Head of the Electric Light and Power delegation to Accredited Standards Committee C50 and is a member of this same organizations delegation to Accredited Standards Committee C37. Also he is the Chair of the IEEE Standards Coordinating Committee 36, pertaining to the coordination of standards relative to gas, electric sand electric utility industries with respect to Utility Communication Arhitecture.
Other IEEE activities include: Past Chairman of the IEEE Power Engineering Society Surge Protective Devices Committee, honorary member of the Relay Committee, and Past Member of the Board of Directors.
Mr. Koepfinger is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers He has served for four years as a member of IEEE ABET teams for the evaluation of electrical engineering programs at colleges and universities.He was elected to the Hall of Honor of the Electric League of Western Pennsylvania for outstanding contributions and service in furthering the ideals of the electrical industry. He was honored in 1989 with the Charles Proteus Steinmetz Award for Major contributions to the development of standards in the field of electrical and electronic engineering. His other activities included service to local community and church. This included six years as a member of the Moon Area School Board and one year as its President.Other activities include serving on Industrial Advisory Committees to the Department of Nuclear Engineering at Penn State University, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at West Virginia University and Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Louisiana Southwest University. He serves as a director of MAGLEV, Inc. of Pittsburgh, PA, and other industrial boards.
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