Season Greetings 2021 from CIGRE Russia

Dear Colleagues,

I would like to congratulate you sincerely on the upcoming New Year holidays!

2021 has marked the 100th anniversary of the International Council on Large Electric Systems. Throughout its history, CIGRE, established as an assembly of engineers and enthusiastic scientists from 12 countries, transformed into a global organization, allowing the accumulation of knowledge and advanced ideas for the selection of optimal growth areas for global electricity industry.

Russia has taken an active part in CIGRE’s life almost since its first days. The uniqueness of the world’s longest energy system, experience in operating equipment in extreme climatic conditions, the availability of robust scientific base captures the attention of foreign scientists and practitioners to the presentations of domestic experts.

Interest in CIGRE has also invariably grown in this country. The Russian National Committee (RNC) has stably ranked among top ten globally in terms of membership level. Russia is represented in all management bodies of CIGRE, 16 international research committees, 62 international working groups, of which five are headed by our compatriots.

CIGRE was established in the period of emergence of the first energy systems, when specialists from different countries joined efforts to tackle difficult issues. Today, the industry is facing equally large-scale objectives of energy transition, the enhancement of consumer’s requirements for the quality of power supply and service level.

It is these problems that became the key message of the 48th CIGRE Session held in 2021, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the organization. Domestic experts delivered 36 presentations across all areas of CIGRE research. It is the fourth best indicator of 100+ countries and Russia’s record.

The Youth Section of RNC CIGRE, a co-organizer of the entire youth program, contributed greatly. Specifically, our colleagues held the Youth Forum, one of the most visited events. Presented was a project of digital transformation for interaction, developed upon the completion of a meeting between the Russian Youth Section and CIGRE management on the sidelines of the REW 2019 Forum.

Recently, RNC CIGRE has intensely developed yet another area, namely female professional community.

Moving on to Russian events, I would like to mention that the tradition of inviting the managers of “big” CIGRE as speakers at major Russian business events, on which we embarked in 2019, keeps evolving, and CIGRE President Michel Augonnet was for the first time invited to speak at the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum in the year that is now ending. This not only enriches the events from a substantive standpoint, but also speeds up the organization’s reputation in Russia.

Summarizing my introductory speech, I would like to thank once against the Association members that contribute their time, resources, expertise to the development of its activity. In the year that is now ending, which has been tough for the energy industry and the rest of the economy, we have managed not only to maintain our positions, but even strengthen them in some respects.

I congratulate you once again on the upcoming holidays. See you next year.

CIGRE Russia Chairman
Andrey E. Murov