Patent ID: 6895373

Claim:
A computer-implemented electrical power substation design and cost estimation expert system, comprising: a first computer readable memory configured to hold data that defines symbols of electrical components for an electrical utility substation to be designed; a second computer readable memory configured to hold attributes associated with said symbols, at least one of said attributes for said symbols being cost information for including a predetermined electrical component as part of the electrical utility substation to be designed; a computer having a display, configured to present an indication of candidate electrical components available for selection for the electrical utility station to be designed, each indication being associated with a portion of said data that defines one of the symbols; a user interface, configured to enable a selection from an external source of said indication, and a processor configured to retrieve from the first computer readable memory the data that defines one of the symbols associated with the indication selected via said user interface, recognize the selection of at least one of a component of the facility and a design parameter for the facility, and based on said selection automatically define which of at least one of said plurality of symbols of the facility and design parameters are candidates for a subsequent selection, present the symbol on said display as a component of said electrical utility station to be designed, retrieve from said second computer readable memory preselected attributes associated with the symbol associated with the indication selected via the user interface, and collect said cost information from said preselected attributes in a file containing cost estimate information for said electrical utility station to be designed.