CIGRE Annual Report 2025
Powering the Energy Transition Through Global Expertise
A Year of Growth, Collaboration and Impact
Building the Future of Electricity Networks
In 2025, CIGRE continued its mission as the world's leading international community of experts dedicated to electric power systems. Through global collaboration, technical excellence and knowledge sharing, CIGRE supported the transformation of electricity networks needed to deliver a more sustainable, resilient and digital energy future.
2025 at a glance
Key Achievements
2025 was marked by four major accomplishments:
✓ Successful international symposia in Trondheim and Montreal
✓ Launch of major digital transformation projects
✓ Modernization of governance through revised statutes
✓ Creation of the CIGRE Innovation and Education Fund
These achievements reinforce CIGRE's role as a trusted global platform where utilities, manufacturers, researchers, regulators and universities collaborate to solve the most pressing challenges facing power systems.
Why CIGRE Matters
The energy transition is accelerating worldwide. Electricity demand is growing, renewable generation is expanding, and digital technologies are reshaping how power systems operate.
CIGRE provides the technical expertise needed to guide this transformation through:
- Independent knowledge sharing
- International collaboration
- Technical publications
- Expert Working Groups
- Conferences and Symposia
- Capacity building initiatives
Global Events driving Knowledge Exchange: Bringing Experts Together Worldwide
Trondheim Symposium: Power Systems for the Energy Transition
Held in Norway from 12–14 May 2025, the Trondheim Symposium focused on Changes Needed in the Power System for the Energy Transition.
The event attracted:
- Around 900 registered participants
- Delegates from 45 countries
- Participation from 11 Study Committees
Discussions centered on renewable integration, grid resilience, decarbonization and future network architectures.
Montreal Symposium Breaks Records
The second major event of the year took place in Montreal, Canada.
Theme: Grid Enhancement, Strategic Planning, Technological Innovation and Climatic Adaptation for Resilient Future Energy Systems.
The Symposium achieved record attendance:
- Nearly 2,400 participants
- 1,891 registered delegates
- Representatives from 57 countries
This became the largest CIGRE Symposium ever organized.
Beyond the Symposia
National Committees organized dozens of conferences, colloquia, workshops and technical meetings across the world, from South Africa and Brazil to Korea, Australia, Jordan and Greece.
A Truly Global Community: The international events demonstrated the growing importance of cross-border collaboration as power systems become increasingly interconnected and complex.
Advancing Technical Knowledge
Experts Working Together
At the heart of CIGRE's technical mission are its Working Groups.
By the end of 2025:
New Topics shaping the Future
Forty-six new Working Groups were established in 2025, addressing emerging challenges including:
| Artificial Intelligence in power systems | Cybersecurity and grid resilience | Electric vehicle integration |
| Energy storage | HVDC transmission | Cloud infrastructure |
| Digital substations | Virtual power plants | Decarbonization strategies |
These activities ensure that CIGRE remains at the forefront of technological innovation.
Publishing Knowledge
CIGRE's publications continue to be recognized as authoritative references for the industry.
In 2025:
Expanding Digital Access
The eCIGRE online library now contains approximately 14,000 technical documents.
eCIGRE Online Library
Usage continued to grow dramatically:
• 225,925 free downloads by members
• 39% increase compared with the previous year
This demonstrates the growing demand for reliable technical information in a rapidly evolving energy landscape.
People, Membership and Community
A Growing International Network
Membership growth remained strong throughout 2025.
Membership Snapshot
Investing in the Next Generation
Young professionals remain a strategic priority.
Young Member participation increased by +38%.
This growth reflects CIGRE's commitment to developing future leaders for the electricity sector.
Diversity Progress
The membership profile shows encouraging diversity trends:
- Average age of members: 44.5 years
- Average age of women members: 37.6 years
- Female participation is strongest among younger age groups
Women and younger professionals continue to play an increasingly important role across the organization.
Building Global Communities
Several initiatives strengthened engagement in 2025:
- Women in Energy (WiE)
- Next Generation Network (NGN)
- Creation of the Legacy Generation Network (LGN)
- Expanded outreach to distribution system operators
- Enhanced support for National Committees
These programs help connect generations and foster knowledge transfer across the industry.
Digital Transformation and Organization Development: Modernizing CIGRE for the Future
Digital transformation remained a major strategic focus in 2025.
Enhancing the Member Experience
Several important projects were launched or expanded:
| Working Group Management Platform | eCIGRE 2.0 development |
| Shared Customer Relationship Management (CRM) database | Session registration platform redesign |
| Contribution management platform modernization |
Strengthening Digital Collaboration
CIGRE's online collaboration ecosystem continued to expand.
By year-end:
- 906 collaborative spaces
- 72,476 knowledge pages
- 9,838 platform users
These digital tools enable experts from every region to collaborate efficiently regardless of location.
Communication and Visibility
CIGRE continued investing in global visibility by:
- Strengthening digital communications
- Improving search engine visibility
- Expanding technical content outreach
- Enhancing member retention initiatives
- Increasing awareness of energy transition expertise
New Innovation and Education Fund
One of the most significant developments of 2025 was the creation of the CIGRE Innovation and Education Fund.
This new endowment fund will support future initiatives in education, innovation and knowledge development across the global electricity sector.
Looking Ahead to 2026: Preparing the Next Chapter
As CIGRE moves into 2026, preparations are well underway for the Paris Session, one of the organization's flagship global events.
Paris Session 2026
More than:
A major opening panel will focus on Artificial Intelligence and the Electricity Industry
Key themes will include:
- AI-enabled grid operation
- Data center impacts on electricity systems
- AI applications in power engineering
- Future technical solutions for resilient grids
Strategic Priorities
For 2026–2027, CIGRE will focus on:
| Digital Transformation Further development of collaboration and information systems | Technical Excellence Continued publication of world-class technical guidance |
| Global Engagement Strengthening partnerships with organizations such as IEC, IEEE PES, World Bank, International Energy Agency | Capacity Building Supporting developing regions, especially in Africa and emerging economies |
Financial Strength
Despite an expected deficit in the non-Session year of 2025, CIGRE remains financially robust with:
- €7.25 million in total assets
- Strong reserve funds
- Continued investment capacity
Conclusion
The achievements of 2025 demonstrate the power of international collaboration in addressing the challenges of the energy transition. By bringing together experts from every continent, CIGRE continues to provide the knowledge, innovation and leadership needed to build the electricity systems of tomorrow.
Together, we are shaping the future of power systems.
About CIGRE
CIGRE is a non-profit and independent organization established 100 years ago to support the development of electricity. With members in over 140 countries, combining local expertise with global vision, the CIGRE community integrates all players in the electricity value chain.
It brings together researchers, engineers, suppliers, regulators, and other decision makers, all committed to sharing knowledge and collaborating to ensure a reliable, affordable and sustainable electricity supply for all.
By offering access to working groups, state-of-the-art technical publications, and world-class events such as the Paris Session, CIGRE helps its members consolidate their expertise, develop practical recommendations and find innovative solutions.
Over the years, CIGRE has continuously adapted to the incredible growth of the electricity sector. Today, as electricity penetrates every aspect of life (homes, mobility, healthcare, industry…), CIGRE meets current societal and environmental challenges, positioning itself as a key enabler of the energy transition.
Thumbnail & banner credit: AI generated image by Shiho on Lummi
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