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Re: Anyone heard of EPRI?
Tesla List wrote:
>
> Original Poster: AuroraOne-at-webtv-dot-net
>
> From: AuroraOne-at-webtv-dot-net
>
> I was just wondering. Has anyone heard of the Electric Power Research
> Institute in Palo Alto, California? I have an idea for a possible
> "invention" of an improved and advanced method of transmitting
> electrical power. I tried to submit a report to them, in which I
> described in detail the entire theory and process of my idea, but they
> were not very receptive. Then again, it's kind of hard to get any
> engineer to take the word of a twenty year-old seriously! In any case,
> if anyone has ever heard of this place, or had dealings with them in the
> past, please write me!
EPRI is a electrical industry consortium to do research on electrical
power industry related issues, like generation, transmission, and
distribution. I wouldn't think that if you sent them an unsolicited
proposal for something that they would necessarily take much notice,
since their "customer", who they do the work for, is the power utility
companies. If you have a clever idea for transmitting power, then you
need to interest the utility (or the government), and they would then
contract with EPRI to do the research to determine if it is a good idea.
Then, assuming that idea works, the utility would have to decide if it
is economically worthwhile for them to implement.
Speaking for myself, and I am an engineer, I do take the words of twenty
year olds seriously, (having been one with lots of ideas myself),
provided that they are backed up by theory. Sadly, the world is full of
people with the next great invention or idea that will provide
electricity "too cheap to meter", if only it didn't require violating
the laws of physics.
However, are you sure that an engineer actually saw your proposal? Or,
did it get thrown in the pile for marketing to read, with all the other
stuff that comes in "over the transom"?
If you have a carefully worked out basis for your idea, why not get
someone with more "stature" (like the EE department at a university)
interested, then they can point you to the right contacts.
Also, don't forget the economic side of things. Electric utilities make
their money distributing power. An idea that does away with the
distribution infrastructure would take away their business, and they
would run like the wind away from such a plan. The same for a scheme
that doesn't provide a way to measure the power consumed (if you can't
bill for it, you can't collect the money, if you can't collect the
money, you can't stay in business).