CIGRE Asia-Oceania Regional Council - AORC 2025

Auckland - New Zealand
3-5 September 2025

Organised by the CIGRE New Zealand National Committee (NZNC) in collaboration with local partners, the event brought together over 84 pre-registered delegates from seven countries (Switzerland, Greece, Japan, China, Thailand, Australia, and New Zealand) with further participation from local and regional power systems industry practitioners.

The conference theme “Future of Power Systems” reflected the ongoing transformation of electricity networks through digitalisation, renewable integration, and emerging technologies. The event combined keynote addresses and panel sessions, technical paper presentations, workshops, and site visits, while also hosting the annual AORC Administrative Council Meeting and its officer elections.

The AORC 2025 meeting was the first to be held since the 2019 conference in Bali, Indonesia and the worldwide COVID pandemic disruption that followed, becoming a milestone symbolising the significance of restarting our Asia-Oceanic regional activity.

Key leadership included:

• Doug Ray, AORC Conference Chair, NZNC Immediate Past Chair, (Vector)
• Dr. Nirmal Nair, AORC Conference Technical Chair, NZNC Secretary (UoA)

This report summarises the structure, highlights, and overall outcomes of the conference.

Conference Programme

Opening Plenary Keynotes and Panels session

The opening plenary session set the tone for the conference, featuring a well-received topical keynote address from:

• Dr. Konstantin Papailiou, President of CIGRE: “CIGRE and the Energy Transition”

From there our three industry keynote speakers presented and then joined an interactive panel Q&A session with Konstantin Papailiou.

• Dr. Waqar Qureshi, NZNC Chair and GM Asset Management, Wellington Electricity “Technical Challenges for Addressing Planning, Operation & Maintenance of the Future Distribution Networks”
• Matt Webb, Executive GM, Grid Development, Transpower. “The Future of Power Systems”
• Sheila Matthews, Manager – Future Security and Resilience, Electricity Authority NZ “Future Security and Resilience”

Key discussion included:

• Evolution of electricity markets under high renewable penetration.
• Role of HVDC and mixed AC/DC systems in achieving resilience and flexibility.
• Future regulatory frameworks to balance security, affordability, and decarbonisation.
• Industry challenges in integrating distributed energy resources.

AORC Administrative Meeting

CIGRE President Konstantin Papailiou and the AORC membership recognised the successful six-year 2019 to 2025 leadership of Thani Al-Kusaibi, Chair, and Murad R Alomari, Secretary, CIGRE AORC, and welcomed Doug Ray and Dr. Nirmal Nair CIGRE NZNC as their respective successors. A collaborative workshop developed the continuing way forward for our Regional Council membership from online and in person productive participation. We particularly thank Thani, Konstantin, Koji Kawakita, SC B3 Past Chair, ELECTRA Editorial Board Vice-Chair, Peter Dulhunty, and Anish Anand’s incisive contribution.

Technical Paper Presentations

Across two full days, 39 technical papers were presented along with their authors panel Q&A sessions, organised under four Preferential Subjects (PS):

• PS1: Evolution, Markets and Regulation for Future Power Systems
  Topics included regulatory frameworks for renewables, transitioning from Distribution Network Operators (DNO) to Distribution System Operators (DSO), and grid flexibility mechanisms.
• PS2: Digital Substations
  Covering IEC 61850 applications, protection and control systems, and secure communication architecture.
• PS3: Operation of Mixed AC/DC Systems and HVDC Networks
  Focused on multi-terminal HVDC, back-to-back configurations, and system protection strategies.
• PS4: Other Topics
  Explored renewable integration, hydrogen applications, and future energy storage systems.

Workshops and Panel Meeting

Two major technical sessions complemented the paper sessions:

Study Committee B2 Overhead Lines Panel Meeting

A full day programme of international power systems participants discussing innovations in transmission line design, resilience, and asset management led by Tetsuya Yamanaka, Convenor, Study Committee B2 Overhead Lines.  The headline was a fascinating and engaging address of “50 years in love with Overhead Lines” by Prof. Emeritus Dr. Konstantin Papailiou.

Helen Gilbert, NZNC NZ.B2 Convenor, Beca Limited, was celebrated for her successful 10 years leadership and she welcomed Ben Albany, Waikato Electricity, as her successor.

Digital Substations Workshop

Coordinated by the University of Auckland and Transpower, and led by Leyla Zafari, CIGRE NZ WiE Chair, the workshop included:

• Industry perspectives keynote from Andrew Renton, Senior Principal Engineer, Transpower
  Followed by the University of Auckland, Power Systems team presenting:
• Digital Substation Overview & Toolchain, Dr. Nirmal Nair
• Establishing Timing and Cybersecurity Testing Facilities, Aldonza Watt, Jiayi Zhao
• Logic Language Models for Protection, Automation and Control, Raymond Tran, Jackson Lin
• Siemens relay setup demonstration, Emily Liu
• Simulation tools demonstration of RTDS / OPAL-RT, Yihe Liu, Sruthi Babu

The workshop showcased collaboration between industry and academia, highlighting the potential of digital substations to automate grid operations.

Technical Tours

Delegates participated in exclusive site visits, including:

• Vector CBD Hobson St Indoor 110, 22, 11 kV GIS Substation (Auckland).
• University of Auckland Digital Substation Laboratory
• Transpower National Control Centre, Digital Substation development test house, and Haywards HVDC Terminal Station (Wellington, post-conference).

These visits provided practical insights into the operational challenges and innovations shaping New Zealand’s electricity distribution and transmission infrastructure.

Outcomes and Significance

The CIGRE AORC 2025 Technical and Administrative conference successfully achieved outcomes of:

1. Technical Advancement – Dissemination of high-quality research and case studies on HVDC systems, digital substations, and renewable integration.
2. Regional Collaboration – Strengthened ties between AORC member countries, fostering knowledge exchange and collective problem-solving.
3. Youth and Diversity Engagement – Active participation from university scholars, early-career engineers, and Women in Energy, ensuring inclusive representation in technical discussions.
4. Industry-Academia Linkages – Workshops and site visits highlighted synergies between research institutions and industry-sector utilities.
5. Strategic Dialogue – Administrative sessions enabled reflection on leadership transitions, including elections of new officers, and celebrated the. contributions of outgoing leaders.

The CIGRE AORC 2025 Conference in Auckland represented a major collaborative milestone in advancing power system knowledge and practice across the Asia-Oceania region. By combining multiple rigorous technical paper sessions, practical workshops, and immersive site tours, the event gave a holistic platform for shaping the future of our energy systems.

The strong participation from international delegates, the integration of academic and industry expertise, and the inclusion of diverse perspectives underscored the ongoing relevance of CIGRE as a global leader in power system innovation and collaboration. Of particular merit was the predominance of NGN and WiE delegates in attendance, and their professional technical research and applied engineering presentations.

Networking and friendships were advanced at a lively and enjoyable evening gala banquet of celebration and dancing harbourside at the Wharfside restaurant, where along with Konstantin and his wife Margarita we also celebrated our founding members of CIGRE NZ 2006.

As the sector moves toward a decarbonised and digitalised future, the outcomes of this conference will contribute to shaping policy, technology development, and operational practices across the Asia-Oceania regional electricity networks.

Thank you to our sponsors Auckland Convention Bureau, Tourism New Zealand, Future Architecture of the Network (FAN), the University of Auckland, and Vector Limited supporting the restart of our Asia-Oceanic regional activity for the future.

Kia ora, thank you, Leyla Zafari, Conference organisational leader, on behalf of Doug Ray, Conference Chair, Dr Nirmal Nair, Technical Chair