The event was held 11-14 August 2025 at the Raleigh Convention Center, Raleigh, NC, USA.
PACWAC brought together global experts, utilities, manufacturers, researchers, and consultants in protection, automation, and control (PAC). The event combined technical sessions, tutorials, utility panels, exhibitions, and networking opportunities that highlighted the rapid transformation of the electric power industry and the increasing role of digital substations, virtualization, advanced communications, inverter-based resources (IBR), and modern testing and automation practices.
The conference opened with a specialized tutorial, “Digital Substations in Practice: Architecture, Testing, and Live Demonstrations,” introduced by Dr. Alexander Apostolov and delivered by experts from OMICRON and GE Vernova. This was followed by a welcome reception at Taverna Agora, setting the tone for a highly interactive week of knowledge exchange and collaboration.
The conference opening on Tuesday morning was followed by the Keynote address: “Powering the Carolinas: Grid Resilience Through Energy Storage” by Jay Oliver, VP of Energy Storage and Grid Development, Duke Energy.
Technical presentations began in paper sessions, covering cutting-edge topics such as virtual protection relay systems, virtual lockout functions, 5G-enabled protection schemes, Ethernet integration into IEC 61850 architectures, and troubleshooting methods for digital substations. The first day also featured two major utility panels: one on IBR integration and its protection and control impacts, and another examining microgrid performance during Hurricane Helene—offering rare, real-world perspectives on resilience and emergency operations.
Wednesday’s program blended deep technical insights with discussions on virtualization readiness, the challenges of adopting digital substations, and applications of IEC 61850 for monitoring, testing, time synchronization, and process-bus reliability. Presentations ranged from condition-based monitoring using 61850 data streams to wide-area protection leveraging 5G URLLC. The new Sunrise Run brought additional community-building to the event, while the Gala Dinner at the Jiddi Space & Courtyard provided a celebratory highlight.
Thursday continued the momentum with sessions on automated SCADA testing, LTE-based direct transfer trip systems, quantum-safe grid communications, redundant merging unit strategies, and cybersecurity approaches. A well-attended interactive “Ask the Experts” session enabled participants to engage directly with industry leaders.
The next major events -PAC World Africa 2026 in Johannesburg, South Africa and PAC World Global 2026 in Delft, Netherlands – were announced as the global PAC community continues its momentum into the future.
The final afternoon featured talks on generative AI for IEC 61850 configuration, federated learning for fault detection, process bus-based time distribution, and the role of IEC 61850 in digital transformation, culminating in the conference closing.
