The 12th China International Conference on Electricity Distribution (CICED 2026) opened in Guangzhou on September 16. Over four days, the conference brought together more than 500 academicians, industry leaders, university researchers, and engineering professionals from the electricity distribution field both domestically and internationally, conducting multi-level and multi-dimensional international exchanges and discussions on topics such as new distribution system planning and operation, distributed energy and energy storage, distribution network digitalization and intelligence, active distribution networks, and microgrids.
The conference, themed “Safe, Reliable, and Proactively Autonomous New Distribution System,” arranged keynotes, a urban power supply roundtable forum, three themed activities, 12 specialized seminars, 16 paper presentations and postings, technical visits, and other diverse formats. Concurrently held were the energy and power journal cluster forum, the Chinese Society for Electrical Engines’ “Young Talent Support Project” academic salon, and six CIRED Chinese National Committee professional committee working meetings, addressing diverse needs in industry governance, young talent cultivation, industry-academia-research collaboration, and scientific journal development. The event built an open and inclusive international academic and industry exchange platform, jointly exploring safe, reliable, green, low-carbon, flexible, and efficient development paths for distribution systems.
Liang Changxin, Supervisory Director of the National Energy Administration, Ji Mingbin, Director and General Manager of the Party Leadership Group of China Southern Power Grid, and Wang Zhiwei, Deputy General Manager and Party Leadership Group Member of State Grid, attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches. Wang Shaowu and Wu Xiaochen, Deputy General Managers and Party Leadership Group Members of China Southern Power Grid, also attended. The leaders and guests who delivered speeches summarized the achievements of China’s distribution network construction, analyzed challenges under energy transition, and proposed directions including strengthening safety and supply assurance, technological innovation, disaster prevention and mitigation, and international industry collaboration from policy, Southern Grid, and State Grid perspectives. They expressed hope that the conference would deepen exchanges and cooperation and assist in new distribution system construction.
The opening ceremony was hosted by Chen Mei, Vice Chair of the CIRED Chinese National Committee and Vice Chairman of the Chinese Society for Electrical Engineering.
Six authoritative domestic and international experts delivered high-level keynote presentations: Chen Weijiang, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chair of the CIRED Chinese National Committee; Fabrizio Pilo, Professor at the University of Cagliari, Italy, and Chair of the CIRED Technical Committee; Wu Xiaochen, Deputy General Manager and Party Leadership Group Member of China Southern Power Grid; Norela Constantinescu, Deputy Director of the Innovation and Technology Center of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA); Shu Yinbiao, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Chairman of the Chinese Society for Electrical Engineering, and 36th Chair of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC); and Peter Childs, Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, Professor of Design Engineering at Imperial College London, and Founding Director of the Dyson Design Engineering College. The keynote session was hosted by Wang Chengshan, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Chair of the CIRED Chinese National Committee Technical Committee.
Academician Chen Weijiang delivered a keynote on “Evolution of the Physical Form of New Power Systems: ‘1+N’,” proposing the “1+N” architecture concept: a single wide-area power system flexibly connecting multiple green local power systems led by new energy and energy storage. This model can build consensus, establish systems thinking, apply systemic methods, promote integrated planning, construction, and operation of new power systems, and achieve effective coordination between wide-area power system safety and stable operation and rapid construction of green local power systems. He recommended strengthening systems thinking, deepening government-enterprise-academia-research collaboration, promoting integrated planning, construction, and operation, and advancing coordinated development between wide-area system safety and local green power systems.
Professor Fabrizio Pilo’s keynote, “Distribution Networks at the Core of Energy Transition: A CIRED Global Perspective,“立足 global energy transition perspectives, pointed out that distribution networks are at the core of energy transformation. The massive integration of distributed photovoltaics, electric vehicle charging, and energy storage brings multiple challenges to distribution networks. He emphasized that AI should empower rather than replace engineering, requiring adherence to electrical physics laws. He proposed abandoning traditional deterministic planning in favor of probabilistic, multi-scenario methods, combined with geographic spatial assessment to挖掘 flexibility resource value. He also introduced CIRED’s positioning as a global open platform for the distribution field and its cutting-edge research directions.
Wu Xiaochen’s presentation, “Building Distributedly Intelligent Autonomous Distribution Systems — Dianhong IoT Industry Foundation,” introduced Southern Grid’s achievements in digital asset management, autonomous and controllable digital platforms, industrial internet digital twins, and modern power supply service systems. The presentation showcased Southern Grid’s practice of empowering new distribution system construction with digital technology, highlighting the Southern Grid “Dianhong” IoT operating system. This system follows an industry open-source co-construction approach, solving equipment silo problems through equipment standardization, multi-source data integration, and open collaborative ecosystems, providing a unified digital foundation for building distributedly intelligent autonomous distribution systems and supporting new distribution system construction.
Norela Constantinescu’s keynote, “Electrification and Renewable Energy: Pathways to Bridging the Global Distribution Network Gap from an IRENA Perspective,” proposed that this decade is a critical period for electrification, aiming for at least 35% terminal energy electrification by 2035. Energy transition will significantly increase distribution network flexibility demands, requiring full excavation of regulation potential from heat pumps, V2G, distributed photovoltaics, and other resources. Digitalization and artificial intelligence can drive distribution networks toward autonomy, while also requiring increased grid investment, strengthened cross-domain and cross-national collaboration, and comprehensive planning to助力 global energy transition.
Academician Shu Yinbiao delivered a video keynote on “Building New Distribution Systems and Their Key Technologies.” He pointed out that to achieve carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals, distribution systems bear the critical mission of connecting large power grids with end users, accommodating distributed new energy, and supporting terminal electrification, making them an important cornerstone of new power system construction. Facing operational challenges brought by distributed new energy and new loads, he proposed that new distribution systems should develop toward main-distribution-microgrid coordinated comprehensive balance, strengthened safety and resilience, and green digitalization. He proposed key technology innovation focuses around six directions — flexible interconnection, main-distribution-microgrid coordination, source-grid-load-storage resilience, energy efficiency improvement, digital autonomy, and market mechanisms — to助力 new power system construction.
Academician Peter Childs presented “Future Research — Scenarios, Choices, and Agency.” Using various research methods, the report looked ahead to development prospects in medicine, robotics, artificial intelligence, aerospace, and other fields over approximately 25 years, analyzed the potential impacts of technological evolution on social structure, population, and human physical and mental health, and proposed viewing the uncertain future from an interdisciplinary perspective, valuing forward-looking analysis to provide thinking for addressing technological change and social transformation.
The subsequent urban power supply roundtable forum was hosted by Tang Wenhü, Dean of the School of Electric Power at South China University of Technology. Five dialogue guests — Yao Jie, Deputy General Manager of Southern Grid’s Transmission and Distribution Department; Kwon Sung-cheol, Chief Research Fellow of the Korea Electric Power Research Corporation; Zhu Liang, Deputy Director of State Grid’s Equipment Management Department; Lee Kok Kin, Distribution Planning Supervisor of CLP Power Hong Kong; and Tang Yuezhong, Deputy Chief Engineer of State Grid Shanghai Electric Power — conducted discussions on urban new distribution system construction, sharing experiences on distributed resource aggregation and regulation, AI technology applications, virtual power plant operations, grid resilience enhancement, and high-density urban power supply assurance, jointly exploring how to transform massive distributed resources into safe, efficient, extremely resilient, and economically affordable urban power supply capabilities.
Three themed activities built differentiated exchange platforms, further expanding the industry value and social benefits of international conferences. The youth forum focused on the core proposition of main-distribution-microgrid coordinated power system operation, providing a stage for young industry professionals to showcase achievements and clash ideas,助力ing young talents to invest in distribution field technological innovation. The Greater Bay Area distribution technology collaborative development forum, based on the Greater Bay Area’s regional characteristics, focused on common problems in regional distribution network construction, exploring cross-entity technology collaborative innovation paths. The high-proportion new energy distribution system green sustainable development industry-academia cooperation forum bridged communication channels between universities, research institutions, and industry, promoting the落地 transformation of scientific research achievements and achieving the有机结合 of talent cultivation, technological breakthroughs, and industrial development.
The 12 specialized seminars covered topics including new distribution network equipment and technologies for new power system adaptation, AI-empowered distribution equipment innovation and upgrade, new distribution system power quality analysis and control, new distribution system smart operation and supply-demand interaction, low-carbon high-reliability urban distribution system planning and practice, modern distribution system island protection, AI and new distribution network protection and control, multi-type energy storage technologies and applications, micro-markets adapting to main-distribution-microgrid coordinated new power systems, computing-power-grid coordination and market mechanisms for efficient distribution network operation, key technologies for source-load friendly interaction in power market environments, and new distribution system cyber defense technologies. These topics comprehensively covered key areas of the new distribution system full chain, balancing equipment R&D, field operation, market mechanisms, and safety protection across multiple dimensions. They focused on realistic pain points in current engineering practice while prospectively assessing frontier directions in distribution network development under energy transition, gathering experts from universities, research institutions, power grid companies, and equipment manufacturers for in-depth discussions, bridging the communication channel between theoretical research and engineering application, and providing diverse ideas and practical references for solving technical challenges brought by high-proportion new energy integration.
Attending representatives will conduct field visits to the Southern Grid Science and Technology Communication Center and the “Future Village” demonstration project in Jngxia, Huangpu District, Guangzhou, closely observing smart distribution networks and near-zero-carbon village new power system落地 demonstration projects, intuitively experiencing the engineering practice achievements of domestic distribution system construction.
Founded in 2000 and jointly initiated by the Chinese Society for Electrical Engineering and the former State Electricity Corporation, CICED is held biennially and has been successfully held for eleven editions to date, being an important regional international conference of CIRED.
Source:CIRED Chinese National Committee / China Energy News Network