In 1882 Thomas Edison launched a pivotal change by electrifying part of New York. In that same decade Gustav Eiffel astounded the world with the construction of the famous structure we know by his name.
By 1921 Edison and Eiffel’s innovations were globally renowned, Westinghouse, Tesla and others had innovated further, resulting in the emergence of electrical networks across the world and Eiffel’s structure had become the icon of the city of light. It was in that year and city that 231 engineers from 12 countries founded CIGRE. Just as Eiffel’s tower had become a symbol Parisians held dear and early closed networks had evolved to open interconnected systems, CIGRE’s work to document and spread these innovations had led to the creation of a unique community of collaboration and knowledge sharing, in the pursuit of power system expertise.
As the 20th century passed into the 21st the digital revolution was transforming our lives with technology, communications and the use of data, all growing at an exponential pace.
This revolution is producing transformative changes in power system engineering, with the innovations of the previous century being integrated to create an end to end system that reaches beyond its current paradigm. At this time of great dynamism, CIGRE has stayed resolute to its values but adaptive to the technical changes.
Today CIGRE is proud of its global culture and delighted by its French connections. Join us at the 2020 CIGRE Session in Paris, France to celebrate 100 years and beyond.
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