IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - July/August 2021 - 12

plug in that appliance, run a heater or
air conditioner, or even charge their
computer or cell phone, that is exactly
what happened. Every one of you did
your job, pushing those electrons down
the wires to every consumer.
Great Change
Is Taking Place
The electric industry has also been
going through a lot of changes. It is said
that our industry has been the catalyst
for innovation, invention, and progress.
Would we have computers, cell
phones, or the Internet without reliable
electric power?
As we entered 2020, we were grappling
with unprecedented change in
our industry. Green power and adopting
more sustainable methods to generate
and consume electric power were
new demands on our industry (Figure 1).
Renewable power production using
inverters was replacing traditional rotating
generators at an alarming rate
and creating enormous challenges.
What we knew about the stability and
operation of the grid for decades was
changing, and many of us had to learn
new techniques and methods. The
IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES)
has been very active in creating a safe
path for this transition, and the technical
teams have been engaged in solving
the technical issues.
Diversity, Transparency,
Inclusiveness
This is an exciting time to be part of
this industry. We are engaged in passionate
discussions about how rapid
change is making it difficult to maintain
grid voltage and frequency as we
push grid performance to the edge
of the margins. These conversations
are critical venues for a diversity of
thought, transparency of action, and
inclusiveness. Yes, what I learned years
ago about electromechanical devices is
still relevant but so are the new concepts
that academia is imparting to our
young women and men. New ideas,
mixed with traditional concepts and
tempered with the wisdom of experience,
create a cocktail of collaboration
that is necessary to create the new electric
grid.
The IEEE PES Governing Board
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is one of the most diverse leadership
teams in all of the IEEE, and this creates
an open atmosphere that fosters
new ideas. The PES board is a believer
in these concepts and passed a recommendation
in 2020 to promote diversity
by ensuring that women are included as
keynoters, panel hosts, and panelists. In
2021, we see the fruits of that labor with
more women taking these important
roles, and the IEEE Women in Power
program is one of the fastest-growing
programs in the IEEE.
New Ways
of Doing Business
The IEEE PES Governing Board has
got your back, and in 2020, we all
pivoted and found ways that the good
work of PES could continue. Your
technical teams started having remote
meetings, and, even though it was new
at first, our members showed patience
and found ways to contribute and move
the work product along.
The way we do business and share
Trusted · Innovative
12
ieeepower & energy magazine
· Reliable
knowledge has forever changed, and
there are now new ways to collaborate.
The PES board understands this,
and the methods we deployed in 2020
with remote and virtual events will
continue in 2021, and these new methods
will make our industry more efficient.
There is light at the end of the
COVID-19 tunnel, and soon we will be
meeting safely across the table, breaking
bread, and socializing. PES has always
been, and always will be, a leader
in this industry, and it is because of the
flexibility and ingenuity of our members
that we will remain in that role.
july/august 2021
http://www.us.lambda.tdk.com
IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - July/August 2021

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