Season greetings 2018 from Russian National Committee of CIGRE

Dear Colleagues,

Traditionally, all those employed in Russia's electric grid sector have associated December not only with an end of year review and discussion of future plans, but also with our professional holiday known as Power Engineer's Day.

To the Russian National Committee of CIGRE, the outgoing year 2017 has been full of positive events. It is the first time in the history of CIGRE that Russia has been ranked first in Europe and fifth worldwide in the number of members. Today, the only countries we lag behind are China, Brazil, the United States, and Japan. We have signed a cooperation agreement with Vnesheconombank. We have launched interaction with Kazakhstan electric grid management company KEGOC and are discussing together the idea of setting up a regional association within CIGRE. The grid companies of Vietnam, India, and Turkey demonstrate their interest in interacting with Russia in the CIGRE field. The RNC CIGRE Youth Section Program was declared the best at the 18th Summit of HR Directors Russia and CIS organized with participation of RSPP in the Talent Management System category.

All science and technology exchange events scheduled for this year, including on an international scale, have been successfully completed. Apart from the traditional International Conference of Study Committee В5 (Protection and Automation), part of the P&A 2017 Show, Russia for the first time hosted a Colloquium of Study Committee D2 (Information Systems and Telecommunication). It was visited by Secretary General of CIGRE Philippe Adam. The international conference on Digital Substation was held jointly with the Netherlands National Committee of CIGRE. As a result, the organizers decided to hold the event biennially. All of the previous events have caught equally high interest of both domestic and foreign experts. Naturally, thanks in large part to the sub-committees of the RNC CIGRE. Owing to our media partners, we were able to make the outcomes of discussions available to a broad range of sectoral professionals, and the December issue of the “Electra” Magazine, which is read by CIGRE members worldwide, featured a major report on the D2 Colloquium.

Conference on the Performance of the CIGRE Session 46 was conducted in a new interactive format. Moscow international education salon included a Round Table on the Power Industry Jobs of the Future. These are just some of the highlights – the most significant events. There are dozens more when it comes to the efforts of the National Committee, including the Youth Section. I would like to thank the managers and employees of entities from among the leading science and technology partners for your efforts to develop the activities of our Association.

As for the objectives and plans for 2018, preparation for Russia's participation in the CIGRE Session 47 will be featured centrally. Last year's experience showed that involvement in the session gives impetus to long-term interactions. Apart from the conventional and mandatory science and technology agenda, 2016 witnessed the execution of a number of agreements. All bilateral meetings were aimed at encouraging the exchange of experience. The collective stand of RNC CIGRE captured the attention of both visitors and exhibitors.

Hopefully, participation of the Russian delegation in the next CIGRE Session will be at least as productive. Especially given that the number of presentations to be submitted by Russia will hit a record high of 25 versus 30 as initially announced. Some of the papers describe unique domestic developments and solutions.

More intense involvement in the international working groups remains the key operational objective – to allow leveraging to the fullest the resources of CIGRE as the largest international expert panel.

We all live in interesting times: the pace of technological development, primarily digital, keeps challenging us all the time – what solutions would be promising in the context of our industry? Which path can be viewed as optimal? In this sense, collective expertise, a generalization of the experiences of CIGRE members would allow reducing the likelihood of errors or even shaping a common opinion. Furthermore, this could be done not only by energy companies themselves, but also by regulators and development institutions.

Concerted and professional interaction among hundreds of thousands of specialists are the key to a reliable functioning of our industry. Together, we are creating opportunities for the development of national economy, comfortable living conditions for Russians.

On behalf of the Russian National Committee of CIGRE, we congratulate you on Power Engineer's Day and the upcoming year 2018 – and we wish you health, prosperity, and inexhaustible vigor!

Chairman, RNC CIGRE
Andrey E. Murov