A Coordinated Electric System Interconnection Review—the utility’s deep-dive on technical and cost impacts of your project.

Empowering Electrical Safety and Performance with SES CDEGS Software

April 28, 2025|Blog

At Keentel Engineering, we specialize in advanced grounding system design, electromagnetic interference (EMI) mitigation, and transient response analysis powered by SES CDEGS software—the world’s leading simulation suite for high-voltage (HV) and extra-high-voltage (EHV) systems.


Since 1974, SES CDEGS (Current Distribution, Electromagnetic Fields, Grounding, and Soil Structure Analysis) has set the global standard for modeling complex electrical phenomena. Keentel’s engineers apply this sophisticated toolset to deliver safe, cost-effective, and NERC-compliant designs across utility substations, renewable energy facilities, and industrial infrastructures.


Why Choose Keentel for CDEGS-Based Engineering Services?

🔹Full Suite Simulation: From soil resistivity testing to lightning shielding and EMI analysis.

🔹Regulatory Compliance: Designs meet IEEE Std 80, NESC, and NERC PRC standards.

🔹Design Optimization: Reduce materials and construction costs while maximizing personnel safety.

🔹Transient and Frequency Domain Studies: Evaluate system resilience under faults, switching surges, and lightning events.

Our CDEGS-Powered Engineering Services

Services Key modules / outputs
Grounding / Earthing Design AutoGround, MultiGround+ → step/touch maps, mesh & rod sizing
EMF / EMI & AC-Interference MultiFields, SPLITS → pipeline & telecom induced-voltage studies
Lightning & Surge Protection HIFREQ, SESShield → mast layout, surge-arrestor kA ratings
Cable & Line Parameter Modelling MultiLines, TRALIN → sequence impedances for PSCAD/ETAP models
Environmental Noise & Corona SESEnviro → EMF & audible-noise compliance reports

SES CDEGS – Technical FAQs

Q1. What is SES CDEGS?

SES CDEGS is an integrated software suite for Current Distribution, Electromagnetic Fields, Grounding, and Soil analysis. Engineers use it to model grounding systems, EMI/EMF effects, and lightning or switching transients in high-voltage networks.

Q2. Which CDEGS modules are used for grounding-grid design?

AutoGround, MultiGround, and AutoGroundDesign generate conductor layouts, step- and touch-voltage maps, and conductor sizing that meet IEEE Std 80 limits.

Q3. What grounding standards do your designs follow?

Keentel designs comply with IEEE Std 80 and 81, the NESC grounding rules, and any additional local-utility requirements.

Q4. How do you determine soil resistivity?

We run field tests—Wenner, Schlumberger, or Dipole-Dipole—and process the data in RESAP to build multilayer soil models.

Q5. Can CDEGS handle multilayer soil?

Yes. The software supports up to 20 soil layers with different resistivities and thicknesses for precise fault-current dispersion.

Q6. What is step- and touch-voltage analysis?

It calculates the voltages a person could experience on the ground or between hand and foot during a fault, ensuring they stay below safety thresholds.

Q7. How are fault currents distributed in a grounding system?

Modules like MALT and SPLITS simulate how fault currents split among parallel conductors and flow into the earth.

Q8. What interference types can you model?

We analyse inductive, capacitive, and conductive interference on pipelines, telecom cables, rail signalling, and other nearby metallic structures.

Q9. Can Keentel evaluate lightning risk?

Yes. Using MultiFields and SESShield, we model strike probability, surge currents, and optimise mast placement and bonding grids.

Q10. How do you calculate cable and line parameters?

MultiLines and TRALIN compute sequence impedance, admittance, and electromagnetic coupling for both overhead lines and buried cables.

Q11. Do you analyse EMF and radio noise?

Absolutely. SESEnviro and MultiFields predict magnetic-field strength, corona discharge, and radio-interference voltage (RIV).

Q12. Can you design cathodic-protection systems?

Yes. We model anode beds and stray-current paths to protect pipelines and underground assets from corrosion.

Q13. Is 3-D grounding visualisation available?

Our team uses SESCAD and SESSystemViewer to create detailed 3-D renderings of earth grids, conductors, and above-ground structures.

Q14. Do you perform transient-surge studies?

Yes. HIFREQ and FFTSES analyse lightning and switching surges in both frequency and time domains.

Q15. Can you model fault conditions for NERC compliance?

Yes. Our studies support NERC PRC-005, PRC-023, and PRC-024 requirements for protection settings and ride-through capability.

Q16. Can buried and overhead conductors be modelled together?

CDEGS can model coated, bare, pipe-enclosed, and overhead conductors in one integrated simulation.

Q17. Do you offer solutions for unusual EMI problems?

We provide tailored mitigation—gradient wires, decouplers, bonding upgrades—for pipelines, fibre lines, CATV, and rail systems.

Q18. Do you conduct environmental-impact studies?

Yes. We evaluate corona loss, audible noise, EMF exposure, and prepare documentation for permitting.

Q19. What documentation do clients receive?

You get PE-sealed reports, SES “how-to” guides, model files, and direct engineering support for follow-up questions.

Q20. How accurate are CDEGS simulations?

All modules are validated through laboratory tests, field measurements, and peer-reviewed research; utilities worldwide rely on their accuracy.


Case Studies: How Keentel Engineering Powers Reliable Solutions

Grounding System Design for 345kV Substation Expansion

Location: Midwest Utility (Confidential)
Scope: Expansion of an existing 345kV substation, including new transformer bays and reactors.
Challenge: Designing a grounding system in multilayer soil while meeting IEEE Std 80 safety limits for updated fault current levels.
Solution: Keentel Engineering utilized RESAP and MultiGround+ modules from the CDEGS suite to accurately model soil profiles, fault current distribution, and step/touch voltages. Hotspot areas were identified and mitigated through optimized conductor placement.
Outcome: Delivered a grounding system that fully complied with IEEE/NESC standards while achieving 20% material cost savings through strategic conductor optimization.

AC Interference Study for Shared Right-of-Way

Location: Arizona, USA
Scope: Lightning protection design for a 50 MW utility-scale solar farm prone to frequent lightning strikes.
Challenge: High soil resistivity combined with repeated outages and equipment failures during thunderstorms.
Solution: Leveraging MultiFields and SESShield, Keentel conducted a comprehensive transient analysis, optimizing the layout and height of lightning masts and reinforcing bonding grids.
Outcome: Since the upgrade, the solar facility has reported zero lightning-related outages across two full storm seasons, improving reliability and protecting assets.

Offshore Cable System Modeling for Wind Substation

Location: Offshore Project (Confidential Client)
Scope: High-voltage subsea cable modeling to support offshore wind farm fault studies and load flow simulations.
Challenge: Precisely modeling complex multi-core subsea cable arrays laid across layered seabed profiles to meet coordination requirements for fault studies.
Solution: Keentel employed MultiLines+ and SPLITS to simulate mutual inductance, capacitance, and electromagnetic interactions among cables, feeding critical parameters into PSCAD dynamic models.
Outcome: Delivered high-accuracy cable models for vendor coordination, ensuring compliance with project fault analysis requirements and optimizing system protection.

Partner with Keentel Engineering for High-Precision Grounding and EMI Solutions

When it comes to critical grounding and transient simulations, CDEGS software is only as effective as the experts behind it. At Keentel, we combine cutting-edge tools with three decades of HV/EHV engineering excellence to deliver safe, optimized, and fully compliant designs.


A bald man with a beard is wearing a suit and a white shirt.

About the Author:

Sonny Patel P.E. EC

IEEE Senior Member

In 1995, Sandip (Sonny) R. Patel earned his Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Illinois, specializing in Electrical Engineering . But degrees don’t build legacies—action does. For three decades, he’s been shaping the future of engineering, not just as a licensed Professional Engineer across multiple states (Florida, California, New York, West Virginia, and Minnesota), but as a doer. A builder. A leader. Not just an engineer. A Licensed Electrical Contractor in Florida with an Unlimited EC license. Not just an executive. The founder and CEO of KEENTEL LLC—where expertise meets execution. Three decades. Multiple states. Endless impact.

A group of construction workers are standing next to each other with their arms crossed.

Let's Discuss Your Project

Let's book a call to discuss your electrical engineering project that we can help you with.

A bald man with a beard is wearing a suit and a white shirt.

About the Author:

Sonny Patel P.E. EC

IEEE Senior Member

In 1995, Sandip (Sonny) R. Patel earned his Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Illinois, specializing in Electrical Engineering . But degrees don’t build legacies—action does. For three decades, he’s been shaping the future of engineering, not just as a licensed Professional Engineer across multiple states (Florida, California, New York, West Virginia, and Minnesota), but as a doer. A builder. A leader. Not just an engineer. A Licensed Electrical Contractor in Florida with an Unlimited EC license. Not just an executive. The founder and CEO of KEENTEL LLC—where expertise meets execution. Three decades. Multiple states. Endless impact.

Leave a Comment

Related Posts

Explore essential NERC Alert 3 actions for IBRs. Learn how TOs, TPs, PCs & GOs must respond with upd
By SANDIP R PATEL July 4, 2025
Explore essential NERC Alert 3 actions for IBRs. Learn how TOs, TPs, PCs & GOs must respond with updated models, criteria, and compliance strategies.
Advanced Power System Modeling for Resource Planning
By SANDIP R PATEL July 4, 2025
Explore advanced power system modeling for long-term planning. Learn about IRPs, demand forecasting, resource adequacy, resilience, and equity in energy.
Best Practices in Energy-Efficient Data Center Design in 2025
By SANDIP R PATEL July 2, 2025
Learn how to reduce energy use, optimize cooling, and improve efficiency in data centers with the 2024 FEMP & NREL best practices guide.
Explore July 2025 grid reliability trends, IBR registration mandates, and NERC compliance updates. S
By SANDIP R PATEL July 1, 2025
Explore July 2025 grid reliability trends, IBR registration mandates, and NERC compliance updates. Stay ahead with Keentel’s future-ready engineering insights.
Enable seamless Modbus to IEC 61850 integration with the PLX82-MNET-61850 gateway. Achieve NERC comp
By SANDIP R PATEL June 26, 2025
Enable seamless Modbus to IEC 61850 integration with the PLX82-MNET-61850 gateway. Achieve NERC compliance with audit-ready substation communication.
SEL Synchrophasor Technology for Grid Monitoring | Keentel
By SANDIP R PATEL June 20, 2025
Discover how SEL synchrophasor systems, including the SEL-487E PMU, support real-time power grid monitoring and NERC PRC-002-2 compliance. Learn more with Keentel.
Explore NERC PRC-029-1 ride-through requirements for inverter-based resources (IBRs). Learn how it e
By SANDIP R PATEL June 20, 2025
Explore NERC PRC-029-1 ride-through requirements for inverter-based resources (IBRs). Learn how it enhances grid reliability with FERC Order No. 901 support.
Ensure NERC PRC-028 compliance with TESLA 4000 and Keentel Engineering’s expert integration, monitor
By SANDIP R PATEL June 19, 2025
Ensure NERC PRC-028 compliance with TESLA 4000 and Keentel Engineering’s expert integration, monitoring, and audit support services for utilities and GOs.
Ensure your relays don’t trip during stable power swings. Learn how PRC-026 compliance works, what r
By SANDIP R PATEL June 13, 2025
Ensure your relays don’t trip during stable power swings. Learn how PRC-026 compliance works, what relays it applies to, and how to automate your evaluations.