International Council on Large Electric Systems
The International Council on Large Electric Systems is a global nonprofit organization in the field of high voltage electricity. It was founded in Paris, France in 1921. The scope of its activities include the technical and economical aspects of the electrical grid, as well as the environmental and regulatory aspects.
More specifically, the objectives of CIGRE are to:
- facilitate technical exchanges among those involved in the production, transmission, and distribution of electrical energy;
- communicate the state of the art and the technical knowledge in these fields;
- inform the decision makers and regulators in the field of high voltage electricity by means of publication in its magazine Electra or through the organization of biennial conferences, named Sessions, that take place in even years in Paris, France.
Organisation
The activities of CIGRE are divided into sixteen study committees :- A1 - Rotating Electrical Machines
- A2 - Transformers
- A3 - High Voltage Equipment
- B1 - Insulated Cables
- B2 - Overhead Lines
- B3 - Substations
- B4 - HVDC and Power Electronics
- B5 - Protection and Automation
- C1 - System Development and Economics
- C2 - System Operation and Control
- C3 - System Environmental Performance
- C4 - System Technical Performance
- C5 - Electricity Markets and Regulation
- C6 - Distribution Systems and Dispersed Generation
- D1 - Materials and Emerging Test Techniques
- D2 - Information Systems and Telecommunication
Activities
CIGRE organises several types of conference, of which the biennial Sessions, which take place in Paris in even-numbered years, are the most important and broad-ranging. The first CIGRE session took place on 21–28 November 1921 at 7 Rue de Madrid, Paris and was attended by 231 high voltage engineers and technicians. Since then, sessions have been held every two years, except during World War II and in 2020 when there was an outbreak of the coronavirus 2019 worldwide.The 47th CIGRE session was held at the Palais des Congrès de Paris on 26–31 August 2018. The CIGRE Session and its Technical Exhibition bring together more than 8500 senior executives, engineers and experts from the worldwide Power Industry. The CIGRE Session provides a unique opportunity to listen to contributions from international senior executives as well as experts and specialists through official presentations, panel discussions, technical meetings and poster sessions. The Session also offers a social program to engage further discussions in a relaxed atmosphere.
In parallel of the Session, a Technical Exhibition is held in the same location on levels 1, 2 and 3. The exhibition offers the opportunity to all visitors, including CIGRE delegates, to discover new services, tools, equipment and materials as well as the most advanced technologies in the field of power systems.
In addition to the biennial sessions, CIGRE organises several other types of conferences in locations other than Paris, including:
- Symposia in odd-numbered years. These usually involve a sub-set of the study committees and concentrate on one common theme.
- Regional conferences covering a variety of subjects but for one specific country or region
- Colloquia which usually involve only one or two study committees.
CIGRE publishes a bimonthly magazine called Electra which contains executive summaries of recently published Technical Brochures, as well as selected scientific papers and invited papers.
The Technical Committee of CIGRE recently updated the CIGRE White Paper “Network of the Future” issued in 2011 and published in Electra. This summary paper provides CIGRE’s views on the know-how needed to manage the transition towards future energy supply systems].
List of National Committees
The principle of National Committees came about in 1931, when they were made official. The following table shows a list of National Committees of CIGRE, year joined and their membership numbers :| National Committee | Year Joined | Equivalent Members |
| Algeria | -- | 45 |
| Arab States of the Gulf | -- | 200 |
| Argentina | -- | 195 |
| Australia | -- | 607 |
| Austria | 1932 | 221 |
| Belgium | 1931 | 167 |
| Bosnia Herzegovina | -- | 48 |
| Brazil | -- | 909 |
| Canada | -- | 405 |
| Chile | -- | 176 |
| China | -- | 1069 |
| Colombia | -- | 105 |
| Croatia | -- | 103 |
| Cyprus | -- | 24 |
| Czech and Slovak Republics | -- | 87 |
| Denmark | 1931 | 115 |
| Egypt | -- | 81 |
| Estonia | -- | 34 |
| Finland | -- | 141 |
| France | 1931 | 547 |
| Georgia | -- | 44 |
| Germany | 1932 | 787 |
| Greece | -- | 232 |
| Gulf CC | 1974 | 173 |
| Hungary | -- | 52 |
| Iceland | -- | 80 |
| India | -- | 826 |
| Indonesia | -- | 200 |
| Iran | -- | 60 |
| Ireland | -- | 153 |
| Israel | -- | 44 |
| Italy | 1923 | 323 |
| Japan | 1931 | 886 |
| Jordan | -- | 76 |
| Kosovo | 2019 | 41 |
| Macedonia | -- | 51 |
| Malaysia | -- | 120 |
| Mexico | -- | 59 |
| Montenegro | -- | 40 |
| New Zealand | -- | 121 |
| Netherlands | 1923 | 238 |
| Norway | 1931 | 255 |
| Paraguay | -- | 81 |
| Peru | -- | 61 |
| Philippines | -- | 45 |
| Poland | -- | 148 |
| Portugal | -- | 110 |
| Romania | -- | 190 |
| Russia | 1957 | 777 |
| Serbia | -- | 73 |
| Slovenia | -- | 100 |
| South Africa | 1974 | 158 |
| South Korea | -- | 450 |
| Spain | 1931 | 357 |
| Sweden | 1931 | 316 |
| Switzerland | 1931 | 406 |
| Thailand | -- | 190 |
| Turkey | 2014 | 111 |
| United Kingdom | 1923 | 559 |
| United States of America | 1931 | 918 |
| Ukraine | -- | 200 |