IEEE Shares Global Findings for the Power and Energy Industry in Response to COVID-19 Pandemic

IEEE Power and Energy Society identifies critical impacts on the global electrical grid and provides steps to help ensure grid reliability and human safety

Piscataway, N.J. – 28 May 2020 - IEEE, the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for humanity, is committed to supporting a global response to COVID-19. A freely available new IEEE Power and Energy Society (PES) white paper titled "Sharing Knowledge on Electrical Energy Industry’s First Response to COVID-19," draws upon input from global energy industry stakeholders in an effort to share insights to assist utilities and operators meet emerging challenges. 

“The COVID-19 pandemic shows how, now more than ever, the reliable, resilient and cost-effective delivery of electrical energy is critical for our society,” said Frank Lambert, president IEEE PES, and principal research engineer at Georgia Tech’s Center for Distributed Energy. “The team’s quick action to share knowledge on the industry’s first response is helping to ensure the reliable and safe distribution of electricity to communities worldwide.”

The IEEE PES Industry Technical Support (ITS) Leadership Committee provides support to and cooperates with governments, regulators and other industry organizations globally on technical issues related to power, energy and policy topics. The following technical and business impacts have been included:

●       Resource availability to assure essential services

●       Criticality of electric infrastructure, reliability, and resilience impact

●       Supply-chain disruptions

●       Impact on energy consumption and peak demand

●       Modification of consumption patterns

●       Market reliability and generation mix

●       Mid- to long-term impacts

In response to those impacts, the following mitigation measures and practices were surveyed:

●       Control centers

●       Field operations: work prioritization and staffing

●       Customer operations and office staff

●       Resilience and supply-chain measures

●       Mitigating technical issues

●       Other practices

“The technical impacts and mitigation measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic provide sound guidance for utilities facing changes in consumption patterns and peak energy demand times," said Aleksi Paaso, IEEE PES member, and director, Distribution Planning, Smart Grid and Innovation at ComEd, who is the lead author of the white paper. "This work by IEEE PES members to address concerns such as high voltage issues related to load reductions, load forecasting and balancing, emergency planning and more benefits the power and energy industry as a whole.”

The free white paper is available for download to all—IEEE members and non-members—at the IEEE PES Resource Center.

About IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES)

The IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES) is the leading provider of scientific and engineering information on electric power & energy for the betterment of society and a trusted resource dedicated to the technical, informational, networking and professional development needs of its members. With over 40,000 members around the globe representing every facet of the electric power and energy industry, PES is at the forefront of the rapidly changing technological advancements that impact everyone’s future. Additional information on IEEE PES can be found at https://www.ieee-pes.org.

About IEEE

IEEE is the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. Through its highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional and educational activities, IEEE is the trusted voice in a wide variety of areas ranging from aerospace systems, computers, and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power, and consumer electronics. Learn more.