Following Hakan Ergun (KU Leuven) Peter Palensky will serve as chairman of the IEEE PELS/IAS/PES Benelux Chapter in the coming period of two years. The chairmanship rotates inside the Benelux. Palensky fulfilled several other international roles for the IEEE. For example, prior he was IEEE Austria Section Chair.

Replacing large coal and nuclear power plants with renewable resources, especially wind and solar energy implicitly emphasised an increased use of ICT to control, monitor and protect future power systems; the final goal being to provide cheap and clean energy through a power system that operates with high levels of reliability and security of supply. This is reflected in what has become a generally accepted definition of a smart grid.

A new laboratory, the only one of its kind in the world, is being built in Delft. The Electrical Sustainable Powerlab will bring together under one roof scientists researching the generation, transfer, distribution and use of electricity by households and companies. The aim is to ensure a smooth transition to more sustainable energy.

On 13 November the PowerWeb PhD poster contest 2018 took place at X Delft. The judges subscribed all 20 posters as high level and great passion at every 2 minute pitch. The clarity to explain your research in such a short time is a challenge, but they all did very well. First prize winner is Baljinnyam Sereeter, second prize is for Nils van der Blij and last but especially according to the audience, not least: at third place Kaikai Pan.

The integration of new technologies in the energy system is a vital aspect of the energy transition. As yet there are no facilities for testing new components in the high-voltage grid. TU Delft is changing this situation by building the ESP Lab (Electrical Sustainable Power Lab, Powered by TenneT). This lab will be a unique facility for top-class research into system integration in the energy system. This research is needed to be able to develop the energy system of the future.