Dean Sharafi
IEEE PES Regional Representative Asia and Pacific
Australian Energy Market Operator, Perth, WA, Australia

During 2020, COVID-19 affected many aspects of our lives including volunteering. At the beginning of the year, there was uncertainty as people started working from home and businesses were forced to shut down in many countries. However, by the middle of 2020 many countries had effective mitigation strategies and people learned to live with the new conditions. Most of the events were conducted virtually and while the remote meetings were not as effective as face-to-face meetings, they could reach out to a larger population and provide wider coverage.

Many conferences, workshops, and technical events in Region 10 went ahead as virtual conferences, and given the attendees didn’t have to travel to participate in these events, it was easier for both presenters and attendees to contribute to those events from the comfort of their homes.

Some of these conferences include World Utility Summit and POWERCON 2020 in India, Asia Pacific Power and Energy Engineering Conference (APPEEC 2020), The 4th IEEE Conference on Energy Internet and Energy System Integration (EI2 2020) and a few others in China. Some of the events went hybrid and provided the possibility of face-to-face meeting and networking at the same time including the 2020 IEEE Sustainable Power and Energy Conference (iSPEC 2020), which was held in November in Chengdu, China.

For the first time, the PES sponsored the 5th Asia Conference on Power and Electrical Engineering (ACPEE) which was conducted in Chengdu in April. Congratulations to the organizers and we hope for the success of this conference in future years.

India was very active in 2020 with multiple conferences and events, hosting the 2020 IEEE International Conference on Power System Technology (POWERCON) in September. This is a biannual event that rotates between China and other countries in the Region in even years.

Other active countries in Region 10 were Bangladesh, organizing technical events, talks, and webinars and the Philippines which shows considerable activities compared to previous years.

Region 10 Chapter Chair meeting was held virtually with more than 60 participants on 12th September just ahead of POWERCON 2020. Many countries in the region had multiple participants in the meeting as there was no limitation of attendees in the event.

Outlook for 2021

South Asian countries in Region 10 have shown interest in setting up a PES Council and I hope we can work together to establish the third PES council in Region 10 after China and India Councils. I look forward to the new year and will work with the organizers of the Conference on Energy Internet and Energy System Integration (EI2) to bring this conference out of China and give it a global reach, as it has great potential given the fast pace of energy transition globally. I hope 2021 will be a better year for the world from health, social and economic perspectives and we can focus on technically rich activates that will provide value for PES members in the region.