Founded in France in 1921, the International Council on Large Electric Systems will hold its 45th General Session in Paris on Aug. 24-29, 2014. This biennial international conference on electric power systems attracts the largest number of international influential decision makers, technology experts and specialists from the worldwide power industry. Overall the number of delegates attending the 2014 event is expected to exceed 3,000, of which some 90% will be international attendees from more than 90 countries. This six-day conference is an event not to be missed.
The International Council on Large Electric Systems (CIGRÉ) conference and exhibition will be staged in the magnificent, well-appointed Palais des Congrès, which is located near the Arc de Triomphe, one of the numerous famous landmarks and visitor attractions in the cosmopolitan capital of France. The conference’s technical program extends over a period of five days in parallel with the exhibition, which attracts an ever-increasing number of the electricity industry’s key international manufacturers, network operators, consultants and service providers.
Held every two years, the CIGRÉ General Session has a reputation for providing a unique opportunity for the delegates, companions and exhibitors to share their knowledge and xperience. The electricity industry continues to address new challenges to meet the demands from an increasing world population for an economic, reliable and secure supply of electrical energy.
The industry faces these challenges at a time when traditional forms of fossil-fuel-fired generation are being phased out to minimize carbon-dioxide emissions and further development of nuclear generation is being curtailed. Many forms of sustainable renewable energy systems have and continue to be developed, requiring huge capital investment, and in many instances, this is being funded from large subsidies collected by end-customer tariffs.
Since its foundation, CIGRÉ has provided an international technical forum for the industry’s system operators, equipment manufacturers and research establishments to discuss and provide solutions for all the major technical issues. This knowledge base continues to expand, having addressed all the industry changes for many decades. Therefore, it seems reasonable to conclude solutions will be found for the current 21st century issues of global warming, increasing energy demands, and new sustainable and environmentally acceptable forms of renewable generation.
This year’s technical program comprises formal presentations, panel discussions, technical meetings and poster sessions to address all of these challenges. The program is based on CIGRÉ’s organizational structure, which involves some 3,700 experts from around the globe collaborating in CIGRÉ’s 16 study committees, working groups and task forces.
The latest developments linked to key components of the transmission system, namely, rotating machines, substations, transformers, overhead lines and cables will be discussed together with system design, operation, control and system performance. The increasing benefits available from advanced information and telecommunication system technologies now in wide-scale use in the industry also are included in the program as they play an increasing role in the industry’s drive to develop smart grids.
Every delegate attending CIGRÉ 2014 will benefit from the knowledge and experience available from the world’s power industry experts on all aspects of research, manufacturing and utility management. The technical conference is well structured, addressing all the major issues, and every session offers delegates the opportunity to contribute and benefit from the assembled industry experts.
Opening Ceremony
The opening ceremony will take place on Sunday, Aug. 24. This will include a keynote address on reliable, controllable and resilient 21st century power grids presented by Terry Boston, president and CEO of PJM Interconnection.
The ceremony will be followed by the first networking opportunity for delegates and their guests.
Technical Program
The technical program will start on Monday, Aug. 25 and will continue daily until Friday, Aug. 29. The first day will include a meeting for CIGRÉ members — held in between two major sessions — which usually attracts the majority of CIGRÉ delegates. The first day will include the following sessions:
• Opening panel of regional perspectives on challenges of the transition in power systems
• General assembly of CIGRÉ members
• Joint workshops on large disturbances system operation and market performance perspectives
• Electric Power Engineering Education panel.
The conference’s technical meetings comprise a four-track program that starts on Tuesday, Aug. 26, offering delegates the opportunity to select the subject of their choice to attend from 16 discussion group meetings. These meetings discuss the papers submitted for each of the preferential subjects that each CIGRÉ study committee selected for presentation. Of all the papers received from authors around the world, the CIGRÉ technical committee selected 465 papers for this year’s conference.
Each technical discussion meeting is well structured, based on the key issues identified by the study committee’s special reporter in advance of the meeting. The session chairman will ensure time is available to offer those in attendance the opportunity to contribute and benefit from the knowledge and experience exchanged during the author-delegate discussion period.
The following table shows the schedule for the technical meetings during the four-track program that runs from Tuesday, Aug. 26 through Friday, Aug. 29.
Poster Sessions
The organizing committee has arranged poster sessions in which papers from the 16 technical meetings will be presented. The poster sessions will commence on Monday, Aug. 25 and continue through Friday, Aug. 29, giving delegates an opportunity to engage in one-on-one discussions with the authors of the CIGRÉ papers.
Social Events
The CIGRÉ organizing committee has arranged a welcome reception on Sunday, Aug. 24, following the opening ceremony. Then on Tuesday, Aug. 26, an evening cocktail reception and private visit to the Musée du Louvre will be held for all registered delegates and companions.
In addition, for companions there is a five-day program of visits and activities commencing on Monday, Aug. 25. These are arranged to give visitors to CIGRÉ an insight into the history, art treasures and features that give Paris the reputation as being one of the world’s most beautiful cities. These tours can be prebooked or booked on site at the Palais de Congrés.
Technical Exhibition
The number of applicants for the2014 technical exhibition at the Palais des Congrés will completely fill the available space, which has attracted exhibitors from 27 countries. As the number of exhibitors exceeds 180, being the largest exhibition staged at a CIGRÉ General Session, a record number of attendees in the region of 7,000 is expected.
The exhibition will open on Monday, Aug. 25 and will remain open during conference hours until Friday, Aug. 29. To be held on two levels, the exhibition will showcase electricity industry products and advanced technologies from around the globe. It will include displays and demonstrations by many of the world’s leading manufacturers that supply power generation and transmission utilities with the latest technologies installed in transmission systems.
The exhibition provides a forum for one-on-one discussions with industry experts. In addition, there will be hands-on opportunities to examine the increasing range of software solutions now available for almost every operational, control and managerial application developed for the world’s power delivery systems. Now widely recognized as a major exhibition for transmission system operators, it serves to strengthen the links between research associates, manufacturers, end users and decision makers as CIGRÉ delegates and visitors represent every sector of the industry.
With all CIGRÉ 2014 has to offer, attendees will benefit from all the events and activities included in this intense six-day program, designed to share knowledge and experience with the experts responsible for the continual expansion of the generation, transmission and distribution of electrical energy.
For complete details on the event and to register for CIGRÉ 2014, visit www.cigre.org.
