IEEE EPEC 2015

As the Honorary Chair of EPEC 2015, it’s my pleasure to welcome you to this critical gathering of electric power and energy systems experts from around the globe. The conversations we will have will help all of us build common understanding of the critical challenges that face the grid and the innovative solutions demanded from those of us responsible for ensuring the safe, reliable design and operation of the power system in the 21st Century.

Please join us in London to hear first-hand about the latest developments from the field; to gain insight from thought leaders from both industrial and academic settings and take part in an international forum for discussing the latest issues around the globe.

Carm Marcello,
President and CEO, Hydro One

It gives me great pleasure to extend sincere greetings to all delegates attending the IEEE Canada Electrical Power and Energy Conference, EPEC 2015. For those of you who have travelled from abroad, welcome to Canada.

As you gather in Canada’s tenth-largest city, my home city of London, you will have a wonderful opportunity to discuss issues, exchange ideas and check out the latest innovations related to electrical power and
energy.

Under our government’s updated science, technology and innovation strategy, we have set out a vision and a road map for harnessing the power of Canadian ingenuity, discovery and invention to create jobs, increase prosperity and improve our quality of life.

Energy remains one of five key research priorities for our government, and we continue to invest in the research important to your industry—from industrial research chairs like Dalhousie University’s Jeff Dahn and Université Laval’s Claire Deschênes to exciting industry-academic partnerships like the Southern Ontario Smart Computing Innovation Platform and the MiQro Innovation Collaborative Centre.

As the world’s demand for energy and electricity increases, we look to you to develop new energy solutions and technologies that are smarter, less costly, more efficient and more environmentally friendly. In so doing, you are placing Canada and Canadian businesses in a position to seize new
opportunities abroad while creating jobs here at home.

Thank you for your contribution to your communities and to Canada. Please accept my best wishes for a successful and productive conference.

Ed Holder,
Minister of State (Science and Technology)
Member of Parliament for London West

A Personal Message from the Premier

On behalf of the Government of Ontario, I am pleased to extend warm greetings to everyone attending the 2015 IEEE Electrical Power and Energy Conference (EPEC 2015) – Smarter Resilient Power Systems. As Premier, I am proud that London is hosting this conference.

As the world’s demand for energy increases, countries around the globe are seeking innovative ways to provide people with clean and reliable power. This conference paves the way for continued innovation by gathering industry experts to discuss the latest trends and challenges. By creating connections among the field’s leading innovators, this forum holds the potential of changing the way we look at energy creation in the future.

I applaud the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers for its role in attracting the top experts from the industry, academia and other interested organizations to this forum. The world’s complex energy needs require thoughtful and collaborative solutions to create a sustainable and prosperous future.

Please accept my best wishes for a thought-provoking and inspiring forum.

Kathleen Wynne
Premier

Electrical Power and Energy Conference 2015:

Dear Conference Attendees,

On behalf of City Council, it is my pleasure to welcome all attendees of the Electrical Power and Energy Conference.

The work you do is vital to the well-being and sustainability of our communities. As practitioners, academics, engineers and researchers your efforts are so important to furthering this continuously evolving discipline. The sessions offered during the conference will no doubt expand your horizons and in turn improve our quality of life right across Canada.

Thank you for making your way to the Forest City, home of Sir Adam Beck, who is known for his significant contributions to and promotion of hydroelectricity. I hope you enjoy your stay. We are a community that is rich in culture and diversity. We are a walkable city, and I hope you take some time to discover our fantastic restaurants, unique shops, excellent attractions and our beautiful parks along the Thames River.

I hope all attendees have an enriching experience and enjoy your time in London. Please come visit us again.

Sincerely,

Mayor Matt Brown

It is with great pleasure to welcome you to the 2015 Electrical & Power Energy Conference in London. This conference is a venue for some of the hottest topics in electrical engineering, and I have personal attachment to it, as I was involved in the process of affiliating the conference to IEEE Canada in 2007. Given the very strong and active research community in the area of power engineering and energy systems in Canada, researchers in Canada and all around the world have contributed to the growth of the conference in the past eight years, and the conference has also created an ideal opportunity for them to connect to each other and initiate collaboration on related topics. That is why the number of the regular authors of the conference is growing steadily and we hope that researchers in both industry and academia will benefit from this annual event.

I would like to thank all members of the Organizing Committee of the conference for their hard work over the past year, and in particular, General Chair Maike Luiken, who has led the committee to this point. I hope you will enjoy the conference’s exciting program, and will take pride in being part of it. I also hope that you will come back next year and will contribute to the next edition of this conference in Ottawa.

Greetings from the General Conference Chair

On behalf of the Conference Organizing Committees, IEEE Canada, the IEEE Canada Central Area Sections, the IEEE Power and Energy Society, the IEEE Power Electronics Society and the IEEE Industry Applications Society, it is my pleasure to welcome you to the IEEE Canada Electrical Power and Energy Conference (EPEC) 2015 in London, Ontario, Canada.

The theme this year is “Smarter Resilient Power Systems”. This theme was chosen in response to the catastrophic power-related events caused by severe weather in recent years, and to acknowledge the UN Secretary-General’s challenge in 2011 to move the world toward “Sustainable Energy for All” by 2030. Truly, if we want to achieve “sustainable energy for all”, we need to foster and encourage a climate of innovation in which “smarter resilient power systems” will be developed and deployed.

EPEC 2015 will showcase industry panels, keynote presentations, industry exhibits and peer-reviewed academic paper presentations. In addition, we will have a special session on the IEEE standards development process, a Women in Engineering panel, and a student-focused panel on career planning and strategy.

The conference offers six industry tutorials and two industry tours, including a visit to the 80 MW photovoltaic power generation installation in Sarnia, Ontario, which was the largest in the world when it started operation in 2010.

If you have a bit of time, please take advantage of the many tourist attractions in and around London. Niagara Falls and Toronto, with all their attractions, are less than 2 hours away.

Please join me in thanking the many volunteers who dedicated their time and effort over the past two years to make EPEC 2015 a great success.

Welcome to EPEC 2015.

Sincerely

Maike Luiken, Ph. D., SMIEEE, FEIC
Director, Bluewater Technology Access Centre, Lambton College