In the past nine months the 2013 GM Local Organizing Committee has been very busy organizing various events and activities for the conference with the local British Columbia flavour. As a part of the strong technical program which includes tutorials, supersessions, technical sessions and courses, the local technical committee organized five panel sessions of local interest. These five panels will cover topics such as Smart Grid Deployment, Information and Operation Technology in the Future Grid, Distribution Automation, Future Power System Planning Challenges, and Advanced Automation Technology in Renewable Energy Resources.

Technical tours will provide an opportunity to visit the Powerex Energy Trade Floor, BC Hydro System Control Centre, British Columbia Institute of Technology Centre for Energy Education and Research, University of British ColumbiaBioenergy Research and Demonstration Facility, and Powertech Labs.

Sightseeing tours will take us to the world famous ski destination Whistler (one of the 2010 Winter Olympics sites), beautiful sights of Vancouver, the local canyons and mountains, the Museum of Anthropology at the UBC campus, and the vibrant Granville Island. We are also preparing an entertaining evening at the Sunday’s Welcome Reception that you will not want to miss!

I am happy to report some of the statistics so far:  the conference received 60% more technical papers compared to 2012, the conference registration opened early and it has been open for about a month now, the blocks of rooms at the conference hotels are selling fast, and one of the technical tours is already sold out. We are anticipating what may be the largest PES General Meeting to date, so do not miss an opportunity to register at an early bird price, and book your hotel and your spot at some of the special events and tours that may be sold out at a later date.

This year’s General Meeting will be held in the Vancouver Convention Centre, situated in the heart of beautiful downtown Vancouver and overlooking the Burrard Inlet. This Convention Centre is the two-time winner of the prestigious World’s Best Convention Centre award, and once you visit us, you will understand why. In addition to the breathtaking views from the Convention Centre and remarkable, unique architecture, the Convention Centre caters some of the best tasting food you can find.

There are so many good reasons to attend this year’s PES General Meeting, and we look forward to seeing you in Vancouver!

Mazana Armstrong, 2013 IEEE PES GM Chair
Email: mazana.armstrong@ieee.org
Conference Website and Registration: http://www.pes-gm.org/2013/