The 21^st International Conference and Exhibition on Electricity Distribution (CIRED 2011) will be held in Frankfurt, the lively city in the heart of both Germany and Europe.

CIRED 2011 will be staged in the Frankfurt Congress Center (Messe Frankfurt), a central geographic location that offers delegates and visitors easy international road, rail and air connections via Frankfurt Airport. Delegates are guaranteed a warm welcome in Germany's most international city, which has the largest financial centre on the continent and is home to Germany's only true downtown skyline featuring attractive high-rise architecture.

The city center offers a range of sightseeing opportunities, ranging from interesting historical buildings on one side of the River Main and a collection of 13 museums devoted to different works of art from classical paintings to modern media on the opposite bank. In Frankfurt, delegates will enjoy the hospitable atmosphere, the restaurants and shopping opportunities.

CIRED 2011 will focus on all aspects of the electricity business, covering every topic that continues to confront the industry's professional staff. Therefore, the conference is structured to address the global interest in the supply of sustainable energy from renewable resources and the need to establish smart grids while addressing the industry's core activities of asset, system and business management.

Senior representatives from electricity distribution companies, regulators, consultants, universities, research centres and major energy users are contributing to the technical programme. All delegates will benefit from this programme, which will be presented based on the successful format that CIRED organising committees continue to develop and expand.

This year's conference and exhibition is expected to attract an international delegate attendance in excess of 1,200 travelling from every corner of the globe. This international event has a reputation for creating a relaxing atmosphere and environment that encourages a freedom of information exchange between the contributors and delegates. The technical exhibition will be sited adjacent to the conference halls, and once again, it has attracted a record number of exhibitors who will display the latest technologies, new products and services now available for distribution network applications. Delegates and visitors will have the opportunity to see and discuss their technical requirements with the international exhibitors.

Conference Programme

The four-day conference begins on Monday, June 6 with a series of six tutorials:

• Smart distribution systems for a low-carbon energy future

• IEC 61850 for distribution system — basic concepts and application guidelines

• Regulation models for DNOs in Europe

• Standardization activities regarding smart grid, electric vehicles and charging stations

• Medium- and low-voltage distribution feeder design using probabilistic approaches to load and distributed generation

• Trends in harmonics below and above 2 kHz.

This is followed by a three-day programme that includes six special subject technical sessions, roundtable discussions, and research and innovation forums led by invited speakers. Daily interactive poster sessions are also scheduled.

The opening forum on Monday will include four keynote presentations by speakers representing different sectors of the industry:

• Challenges in power grid business in Germany

• German aspects of European energy regulation

• E-Car: project, billing, charging, integration, technology

• Tomorrow's energy supply: local, sustainable intelligent

These presentations will be followed by a welcome reception in the exhibition hall.

Technical Programme

CIRED 2011 received a record number of paper abstracts (1,317), from which the technical committee has selected 813 for presentation at the conference. Contributions for this conference were received from potential authors from more than 50 countries, confirming CIRED's increasing international reputation.

The six technical sessions extend over a three-day period, each session being well managed to ensure the author contributions on the selected papers allow sufficient time for delegate questions and answers. The following is a brief description of the sessions that will be presented:

Session 1 - Network Components

This session covers all components that comprise a distribution network, from power transformers, switchgear, cables and joints, insulators and metering. In addition to design changes, the introduction of new materials, asset monitoring disciplines and the introduction of green technologies are included. Representatives from manufacturers, utilities and research establishments have all contributed to this session.

Session 2 - Power Quality and EMC

Power quality in terms of system reliability, low voltage, flicker, frequency variations and waveform distortion will be the focus of this session. Papers covering subjects including safety issues, intelligent substations, power line communications and the integration of wind farms also will be featured in this session.

Session 3 - Operation, Control and Protection

The operation, control and system protection used on distribution networks has attracted the largest number of selected contributions. Smart grids, distributed generation, system reliability, protection, network monitoring and control are the topics likely to dominate the discussion in this session.

Session 4 - Distributed Energy Resources and Efficient Utilisation of Electricity

Distributed generation in the form of wind power, micro-CHP plants, photovoltaic and energy/heat storage systems and their impact on existing distribution networks will be featured in this session. Delegates opting to attend this session will have the opportunity to benefit from more information on smart grids and the smart metering technology that are now the subject of pilot studies in many utilities.

Session 5 - Planning and System Development

All aspects related to short- and long-term development of high-voltage and low-voltage networks to meet the changing and challenging demands placed on distribution networks will be presented. Investment strategies for aging networks, optimisation of system losses and planning for active distribution networks are included for a discussion in a session, which is dominated by contributions from distribution utilities

Session 6 - Distribution Business and Impact of Regulation

The role of electricity distribution companies continues to evolve as it develops into a marketplace for consumers and small-scale power producers. Issues relating to regulation and the changes being introduced take into consideration distributed generation, smart grids and smart metering are among the topics scheduled for discussion in this session. Therefore, delegates attending this session will have the opportunity to share experience and benefit from the papers presented on current and future developments.

Roundtable and Research and Innovation Discussions

The 16 roundtable discussions have become a popular and well-supported feature of this event. Linked to the main technical sessions, a panel of eminent speakers present the topics, which then generate a lively two-way debate with the delegates in attendance. The planned six research and innovation forums are staged in a similar manner, but the content is linked to the new technologies under development that will serve the industry in the future.

Poster Sessions

The poster sessions at CIRED offer delegates the opportunity to meet and discuss the content of the technical presentations with the contributing authors. The CIRED organising committee has taken a refreshing and proactive approach to these sessions by implementing guided interactive tours of the posters displayed. In accordance with a prearranged schedule, the main session chairman hosts the tour to introduce and offer each contributing author the opportunity to present a short summary of their paper to the assembled delegates. This feature of the poster session has been successful in attracting large delegate support.

International Technical Exhibition

The conference will be supported by a large technical exhibition located adjacent to the conference halls. This year's event already has attracted almost 100 leading manufacturers, utilities and service providers from around the world.

The CIRED 2011 exhibition will include displays showing a wide range of distribution equipment incorporating the latest technologies and services now available for utilities. This will give delegates a hands-on opportunity to witness demonstrations of the latest software programs developed for the design, protection, control and management of distribution systems.

Experts from manufacturers, contractors and research organisations will be available to ensure all delegates have the opportunity to share knowledge and experience. The demand for a sustainable and an environmentally acceptable supply of electrical energy shows no sign of diminishing, so it is vitally important that industry professionals seize this opportunity to receive an update of the latest cost-effective technologies now on the market.

Two technical visits have been arranged for Friday, June 10 for delegates remaining in Frankfurt after the conclusion of the technical programme. One tour will be of the underground transformer and switchgear station Hochstrasse, which supplies large parts of the inner city of Frankfurt. The second tour will be of the model city of Mannheim, lead by MVV Energie AG in the model region of Rhein-Neckar.

CIRED, one of the leading international conferences on electricity distribution, is held every two years in a different European venue. The 21^st CIRED in Frankfurt is again set to establish new records in terms of the quality and content of the technical programme, and the number of exhibitors participating in the exhibition.

Frankfurt is an ideal city in which to stage CIRED 2011 in view of its strategic position to attract delegates from Europe and the well-established intercontinental links that provide delegates easy air travel from around the world. Delegates and visitors to CIRED 2011 are assured of a warm reception from their fellow professionals from all sectors of the electricity distribution business, keen to expand their knowledge base and establish global business opportunities.

The CIRED organising committee and the German CIRED committee look forward to welcoming you to Frankfurt.

CIRED 2011 List of Exhibitors (Current as of April 19, 2011)

ABB Ltd.

A. Eberle GmbH & Co. KG

Alstom Grid GmbH

Altea B.V.

BAUR Prüf- und Messtechnik GmbH

BCP Busarello + Cott + Partner Inc.

Belden Electronics GmbH

b2electronic GmbH

Cable Cure

CEDRAT

Cellpack GmbH

Cesi

Cisco Systems GmbH

Cooper Power Systems

CYME International T&D Inc.

Deba Components NV

DIgSILENT GmbH

Doble Lemke GmbH

DOW EUROPE GmbH

Dutch Power

EA Technology Ltd.

EFACEC

EFEN GmbH

EMG Elektro-Mechanik GmbH

Europoles GmbH & Co. KG

GE Digital Energy

Haefely Test AG / Hipotronics Inc.

HDD Handels- und Vertriebs GmbH

Hedrich Group

Helmut Mauell GmbH

Hexaformer

High Voltage Inc.

Horstmann GmbH

iGrid T&D

IPEC

IPS - Intelligent Process Solutions GmbH

IPSA Power

KEMA

KEPCO Pavillion

Kelvatec Ltd.

Kingsine Electric Automation Co. Ltd.

Kocos Messtechnik AG

Locamation

Lumasense Technologies GmbH

Maschinenfabrik Reinhausen GmbH

Megger GmbH

Netcontrol

Neuhaus Telekommunikation GmbH

Noja Power

Nortech

OMICRON electronics GmbH

Ormazabal

Petra Solar

Phoenix Contact GmbH & Co. KG

PNU Power

PowerGrid International

Power Plus communications AG

PowerSense A/S

Protecta Ltd.

PSI AG

Qualitrolcorp

Relab Software

RT Measurement Technologies

RuggedCom

RWE Rhein-Ruhr Netzservice GmbH

S&C Electric Europe Ltd.

Schneider Electric

Schniewindt GmbH & Co. KG

Seba Dynatronic GmbH

SecuControl GmbH

SERGI France

SGC - SwitchGear Co.

Siemens AG

Smarter Grid Solutions Ltd.

Sprecher Automation GmbH

Streamer Electric Inc.

STRI

Transmission & Distribution World

Tecnalia

TEKLA Corp.

Telvent

THE IET

Thytronic SpA

Vaisala

Vamp Ltd.

Vattenfall Europe Distribution

VDE e.V.

Yucoya Energy Safety GmbH

Zenergy Power

For complete conference and registration information for CIRED 2011, visit www.cired20011.org.