Colleagues – I hope this unusual year finds you and your loved ones in good health. The impact of COVID-19 continues to ripple through the nation and unfortunately has impacted our ability to hold the 2020 Grid of the FutureTM event. The folks at National Grid have a tremendous program developed and if not for this pandemic, it would have been a great venue for us to get back to some state of normalcy. The hotel in Providence has informed us that due to COVID distancing restrictions with this venue in 2020 that they could only handle less than 70 for this event – therefore we made the decision to postpone it for 2021.
National Grid has graciously agreed to host this event using the agenda already prepared, with possibly some minor changes, in 2021. The new dates will be October 17 – 20, 2021 in the same hotel venue. Please mark your calendars!
In an effort to not lose momentum and to provide value to each of our members, we will be taking the following steps over the coming months. They are:
* The NGN network has 10 excellent papers that were selected to be submitted and were to be whittled to the 5 best papers at this year’s GOTF. They will now move this competition to a virtual format where the 5 five best papers will be selected to be presented and judged virtually so that the best paper can be selected and the author awarded a trip to Paris in 2022.
* Some of the tutorials planned for the GOTF along with some others are being repackaged as virtual sessions for our members for the fall of 2020. Please take advantage of these tutorials and encourage your colleagues to take advantage of these as they are offered.
* To encourage existing members to attract new members, existing individual members will receive a 50% reduction on their 2021 year renewal rate for any new member that they get to join CIGRE between now and October 1, 2020. The new member would receive a 15-month membership starting October 1st and continuing through 2021.
Your continued membership is important if we are to remain a viable industry organization and I ask for your help in growing our numbers while maintaining your membership.
Finally, the movement of the GOTF also will impact our scheduled Annual Meeting. We will be sending out a meeting invitation and notification to hold this meeting virtually in October. A date for this meeting will be announced in the near future. This year’s annual meeting will allow us to discuss and approve the revised bylaws reflecting the new direction of CIGRE across the total energy spectrum, elect new officers plus any Executive Committee changes plus update you on your organization.
I hope you understand why we felt we had to make these changes and ask for your continued support and the engagement of your colleagues to grow this organization.
Warmest regards and best wishes for good health,
Dave
David W. Roop
President
