YOUNG ENERGY PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR AWARD FINALIST: Yuyin Kueh, Orion network planning engineer
From the day she graduated from the University of Canterbury in 2014 with a first-class honours degree in electrical engineering, Yuyin Kueh has been a rising star with a maturity and ability far beyond her years.
She joined Canterbury electricity distributor Orion as a network planning engineer in 2018.
By then, aged 27, she had already worked on design projects for Transpower, Delta, and at Manapōuri and Waipori 1A, one of New Zealand’s oldest hydroelectric schemes. She also delivered detailed design work for the Aviemore power station local service upgrade and project-managed its implementation.
Analytical skills
One of her first jobs at Orion was a study on the impact of electric vehicles on the company’s network – one of the top 10 challenges facing the network and a project that showcased her analytical skills.
Orion network development manager Craig Wong says the company needed someone who would look at the qualitative and quantitative information available and establish some informed conclusions.
“Yuyin has an innate curiosity and an ability to dive deep into data to establish evidence-based insight in a way few can,” he says.
“Yuyin was the perfect person for the job and her study was eye-opening.”
Leading-edge research
The project – ensuring Orion’s low-voltage network is ready for a projected 20 per cent increase in load from electric vehicles – is one of the most important on the firm’s agenda.
Kueh worked closely with the University of Canterbury’s Electric Power Engineering Centre to research the impact of EV charging across Orion’s network, co-presenting a paper at the Electricity Engineers’ Association’s 2021 annual conference.
The work was also the basis for an eight-year, $11.6 million major reinforcement programme of Orion’s low-voltage network.
“Yuyin is leading the overarching project of ensuring the low-voltage network will be ready to support the change and is responsible for determining the priority for our low-voltage metering rollout programme,” Wong says.
“This programme will give Orion greater real-time visibility of the existing loading of the low-voltage network and enable us to monitor changes in consumer use through data analytics.”
Superpowers
Orion says Kueh is “too humble” to mention her three superpowers – meticulous attention to detail and data, vision of the big picture, and curiosity to create new solutions.
She has designed critical infrastructure upgrades, delivered projects for some of NZ’s largest companies, undertaken ground-breaking research, and helped other young women achieve their engineering goals.
Her major projects at Orion have centred on EVs, but she has also delivered other innovations – using her database skills to create systems and tools to streamline and simplify various processes – that have made life easier for her colleagues.
Her work customising Microsoft’s Power BI dashboard – creating a searchable interface to let staff easily access key information and trends – is held in high regard.
“Her nomination has the support of all of her Orion teammates,” chief executive Nigel Barbour says.
“I know there will be much celebration in Canterbury if she is successful.”
The Young Energy Professional of the Year category is sponsored by Downer
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