e-News for power industry leaders

Issue 23 - September 2020

Dear Reader,

I trust you are keeping well amid the ongoing issues with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fortunately here in Australia, even with the issues in Victoria, we seem to be fairing better than in many other parts of the world.  

The Paris e-session has now successfully completed with over 2600 registrations and for those who registered, the presentations remain available online until the end of December.  In fact, if you missed the session, if you register before 31 December 2020,  you can still register to access the online recordings of the 2020 e-session or register at the discounted special  rate for both the 2020 recordings and attendance at the 2021 Centennial session in Paris - information and registration forms can be found HERE or call our office on (07) 3310 8838.

There are three technical articles below, which are very topical in the current environment.  The first is a joint article from B5 (Protection and Automation) and D2 (Information Systems and telecommunications) on the work that CIGRE has been doing in relation to cyber security. Recent news reports have highlighted the growing concerns about this topic from individual to national and international levels and the power system is no exception.  The remaining two articles are from B3 (Substations and electrical installations).  One relates to the use of robotics in substations and the other to safe working in substations.

I remind readers that CIGRE has a raft of documents, publications and even pre-recorded Webinars all available through e-CIGRE.  Again most of the information is free to members and often the cost of an individual membership is less than the cost of the article or document you may be interested in.

e-cigre:   CIGRE members can access all CIGRE publications. Non-members can access and download free of charge ELECTRA and Technical Brochures that were published 3 or more years ago. 

  • Technical Brochures - Technical Brochures cover the full spectrum of the power system and are factually robust, with each undergoing a rigorous peer review process.

  • CIGRE Science & Engineering (CSE) -  CSE is an open electronic Journal, freely available for download to everyone, and has three issues per year, on February, June and October.  All articles in this journal are peer reviewed by  experienced and acknowledged experts in the various fields of the electric power sector. 

  • Future Connections  -  Focuses on the activities from across the world of CIGRE that relate to innovations, new technologies and emerging challenges of the power system.

  • Reference Papers  -  Lay speak orientated Reference Papers provide important, unbiased technical information to help inform debate on hot topics being dealt with inside and outside the industry.

  • Green Books -  Green Books are CIGRE's state of the art, flagship reference publications.

  • Papers and Proceedings: -  Materials presented at CIGRE events and global knowledge programme

  • Powertalk  -  CIGRE global bi-monthly newsletter

  • Leadership Circle  - A Short publication released three times a year that promotes topics and content of particular interest to CEO's and other executive industry leadership.

  • Electra for members  - A bi-monthly members only journal with a focus on Working Group, Study Committees events and governance reporting.   

We are also making available via our You Tube site recordings from webinars we host as well as technical summaries of the work of our panels.

Have a look, you are bound to find something of interest.

Stay safe and as always if you have any requests for specific topics or suggestions for ITL, please contact us enquiries@cigreaustralia.org.au  or (07) 3310 8838

Best Regards

Terry Killen
Executive Manager
CIGRE Australia

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Cyber Security in Power Systems

The massive rise in the collection of metadata and megadata or Big Data in the last ten years or so has led to significant concerns about the vulnerability of this data to cyber attack. This ranges from individual privacy through to national security and is a major issue within Australia and New Zealand as well as across the world. In the past, power systems were less vulnerable to cyber attack as their communication and control systems were physically separate from the outside world. This is no longer the case and analyzing and improving the security of the relevant systems is a critical activity. Within CIGRE, this work is addressed by a number of Study Committees and is a key activity of B5 (Protection and Automation) and D2 (Information Systems and telecommunication). Peter Bishop (B5) and Victor Tan (D2) convene the Panels for Australia and New Zealand.


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WG.B3.47 - Application of robotics in substations

Working Group B3.47 has produced Technical Brochure 807 that provides a comprehensive overview of the existing applications of robotics in substations for construction, inspection, maintenance, and operation. It also presents the current and expected future trends in the development of new robot systems, pointing to the need for further research and standardization. The Australian corresponding member of the working group was Yi Li (Australian D1 Panel convenor)


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WG.B3.46 Guidelines for safe work methods in substations

Working Group B3.46 has produced Technical Brochure 805, “Guidelines for safe work methods in substations”. The Brochure identifies design practices that can reduce substation hazards and the shift in utility culture that needs to occur at all levels of the company.


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