October 1, 2026
Where Protection Meets Innovation: WPRC 2026
SynchroGrid is proud to return to the Western Protective Relay Conference (WPRC), taking place October 26-29, 2026, in Spokane. As a trusted provider of system protection engineering and automation solutions, we look forward to showcasing our latest innovations and connecting with industry professionals who are shaping the future of the power grid.
About WPRC
The Western Protective Relay Conference (WPRC) is an educational forum dedicated to the dissemination, discussion, and networking of technical advancements in power system protection. Since 1974, the conference has brought together engineers, manufacturers, utilities, researchers, and students from across the globe to share knowledge and practical field experience.
The 2026 program will highlight the latest technologies in protection system design and real-world applications, including:
- Protection challenges associated with inverter-based resources (IBRs)
- Wildfire mitigation strategies
- Digital secondary systems deployment
- Traveling wave applications
- Advances in communication technologies for protection systems
- Evolving approaches for generation, transmission, distribution, and distributed energy resources including battery energy storage systems and microgrids
WPRC also offers a dedicated training track for engineers new to the field, providing foundational instruction in protection and communications principles.
With over 500 attendees typically participating from 45 U.S. states and more than 30 countries, WPRC continues to serve as a premier global forum for protection engineering.
Paper Presentation
📅 Thursday, October 29 ⏰ 3:30 to 4:05 P.M. 📍 Centennial 300AB
Don’t miss our presentation by Luke Hankins, Project Manager, titled: “A Comparison of Deterministic Automation and AI-Based Approaches for Protective Relay Settings and Coordination.”
This session explores:
- Differences between deterministic automation and AI-based approaches for relay settings
- Key considerations in accuracy, reliability, scalability, and regulatory compliance
- Real-world case studies demonstrating fully compliant and coordinated settings
- How AI can complement—but not replace—deterministic methods
Visit SynchroGrid at Booth #15
Stop by Booth #15 to see live demonstrations of our Setting Automation Relay Assistant (SARA) and get a sneak peek at AARMI, our newest software product.
SARA is designed to modernize and streamline the relay setting process. It’s compatible with both CAPE and ASPEN OneLiner™, giving engineers greater flexibility in protection coordination and relay setting workflows. SARA helps teams significantly reduce engineering hours while improving accuracy, consistency, and efficiency. Whether your focus is automation, compliance, or system reliability, SARA is built for today’s evolving protection challenges.
AARMI (Automated Analysis of Relay Misoperations) takes on a different part of the job. When a protection system operates, the questions are always the same: what happened, was it correct, and what do we tell NERC? Today, answering them means days in oscillography viewers, relay manuals, and settings files.
AARMI is the new software product we have been developing to automate the forensics of relay misoperation analysis. It reviews event data, including COMTRADE oscillography, CEV event reports, SER records, and as-found settings, and returns a verdict, an event timeline, and a draft NERC PRC-004 report for engineer review. Built on real utility root-cause investigations, AARMI was created by protection engineers for protection engineers.
Stop by for a preliminary demo and see what we’ve been building.
Exhibit Hall Hours
Plan your visit to Booth #15 during the following times:
- Monday: 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM
- Tuesday: 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM and 4:45 PM to 7:00 PM
- Wednesday: 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM and 4:45 PM to 6:00 PM
Whether you are exploring new technologies or connecting with peers in the industry, we welcome the opportunity to meet with you in Spokane. See you there!
