CIGRE B5 Industry Updates

CIGRE Study Committee B5

by Peter Bishop, Transpower NZ Ltd, New Zealand

News from CIGRE Study Committee B5 Protection and Automation

The CIGRE 2024 Paris Session took place from 25 to 30 August 2024, with a record of more than 4500 registered delegates from over 99 countries. There was also a record number of contributions, with 1,185 papers presented, each offering fresh insights across a wide range of disciplines.  Study Committee (SC) B5 hosted:

  • Two preferential subject discussion sessions 
  • PS1 Practical experiences and new developments of process bus (45 papers, 40 prepared contributions, special reporter; René Troost NL)
  • PS2 Acceptance, Commissioning, and Field Testing for Protection, Automation and Control Systems (59 papers, 58 prepared contributions, special reporter: Pablo Humeres Flores BR)
  • A tutorial (Protecting a changing power system)
  • A poster session
  • Our annual committee meeting

The papers and the recordings of the discussion sessions are available for delegates on the session website.

In the annual meeting, SC B5 chose two preferential subjects for the 2026 Paris Session of B5:

  • PS1: Knowledge management in the field of protection, automation, control, metering and monitoring
    • Knowledge and skills and their preservation
    • Education, training and life-long learning of students, young professionals, academics and manufacturer and utility personnel
    • Platforms, methodology, tools and support for documentation and educational delivery
  • PS2: Protection and control in networks with unconventional sources
    • Best practices and regulatory and performance requirements for protection and control in networks dominated by unconventional sources, including wind and solar generation, battery storage, HVDC links and other converter-based devices
    • Lessons learned and field experience with protection and control in networks dominated by unconventional sources, including fault-ride through and transient behavior
    • New developments in protection and fault response control of unconventional sources

The call for papers is expected to be released soon.

Three new working groups were also voted to be started as follows:

  • Digital Transformation of PACS: beyond the Application of IEC 61850
  • Implementation Guide for fully digital IEC 61850-based Protection, Automation and Control Systems
  • Challenges and solutions for backup protections in modern power systems

The Terms of Reference (ToRs) documents are being drafted. A call for members for each group will be circulated after approval by the Technical Council chair.

Several SC B5 awards and management changes were made during the Paris session: 

  • The CIGRE Medal award this year has been granted to Mladen Kezunovic (US) involved in SC B5 activities. 
  • The SC B5 Outstanding Service Award was presented to Cedric Moors (BE) in recognition of his contribution, commitment and dedication to CIGRE Study CommitteeB5 – Protection and Automation
  • The CIGRE Honorary Member award this year has been granted to Rannveig Løken (NO) involved in SC B5 activities
  • The Technical Council Award 2024 for B5 “Protection and Automation” has been granted to Bogdan Kasztenny (CA)
  • Distinguished Member awards 2024 for B5 “Protection and Automation” members have been granted to René Troost (NL), Marcin Lizer (PL) and Alexander Voloshin (RU)
  • After many years of great service, SC B5 Chair Rannveig S. J. Loken (NO) and SC B5 Secretary Richard Adams (UK) completed their B5 Chair & Secretary terms at the 2024 Paris session. The new SC B5 Chair is Volker Leitloff (FR) and the new SC B5 Secretary is Peter Bishop (NZ).
  • During the Paris session Rannveig Løken (NO) was selected as the new Chair of the CIGRE Technical Council 

Next year, SC B5 will organise the CIGRE Osaka SC B5 Colloquium, June 30 to July 6, 2025. Abstract submission closed at the end of October, and notification of acceptance is scheduled for the beginning of December, prior to full paper submission (end of January). Further details can be found on the colloquium website at https://www.cigre2025osaka.jp/

Also, next year, SC B5 will be participating in the CIGRE Symposium in Trondheim, Norway, 12-15 May 2025.  Abstract submission has closed and full papers are being written. Registration for the event has commenced. Further details can be found on the symposium website at https://cigrenrccsymposium2025.com/  

Biography:

Peter Bishop is aPrincipal Protection and Automation Engineer at Transpower NZ Ltd, the transmission utility in New Zealand.

He is a chartered member of Engineering New Zealand and a Chartered Professional Engineer in New Zealand. Since graduating in 1989, Peter has gained experience in power system protection & automation engineering support for a transmission utility and protection manufacturer. He is now Secretary for CIGRE Study Committee B5, after being the Australia regular member. In 2022 Peter received the CIGRE Technical Council Award for Study committee B5.