There have been a number of questions on the policy changes being implemented for Conference papers for the 2013 General Meeting (GM), to be held 21-25 July 2013 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.  This article aims to clarify the reasons for these changes.

The Changes:

In 2012, during the initial planning stages for the 2013 GM and the development of the “Call for Papers”, the decision was made to decrease the maximum page limit for conference papers and to create a different paper template for conference papers.  This decision stemmed from feedback we had received from within the Technical Committees, other PES members and from many authors.

The maximum page limit for conference papers was set at four (4) pages in the “Call for Papers” that was distributed at the 2012 GM.  This decision was based on the assumption that the PES Editor in Chiefs (EICs) would require a Transactions paper to have at least 50% additional/different content from a conference paper that the author had already written on the subject.  After the 2012 GM, the PES EICs discussed the issue further and agreed that PES will generally follow a policy that a Transactions paper should nominally have at least 40% additional/different content than the original Conference paper.  Based on this revised policy, the conference paper page limit was adjusted to five (5) pages.  Expanding a Conference paper from five (5) to eight (8) pages provides ample opportunity for an author to modify it with enough additional/different content to be considered for publication in a PES Transactions Journal.  Of course, the expanded paper still has to go through the Transactions paper review process to determine if it meets the qualifications for acceptance.

Many PES members commented that having Conference and Transactions papers utilizing the same template/format and having the same length requirements has created confusion in the society on the difference between these two publications.  Transactions papers have a more rigorous review process and expectation of a higher quality and archival value.  The change in Conference paper length and format will provide a quick visual difference between the two types of papers.

Conference Paper Submissions and Acceptance:

In recent years, the PES GM conference paper submissions have increased considerably.  In 2011 there were just over 700 conference papers submitted and then for 2012 there were just over 1000 submitted.  For the 2013 GM we received a record number of almost 1600 conference paper submissions.  This represents almost a 60% increase above the 2012 GM submissions, and more than double the 2011 conference paper submissions.  Based on historical acceptance rates for GM conference papers, we determined that we could not physically handle the potential number of papers that would be accepted and a significant increase in conference paper sessions would further detract from our other technical sessions, tutorials, and committee meetings being held concurrently at the GM.

In order to maintain a manageable number of paper presentations for the conference, the PES Technical Council’s Technical Sessions Committee agreed upon a limit of papers that each Technical Committee could accept for the 2013 GM and upon a ranking system for choosing the final papers accepted.  This allowed for a more selective acceptance criterion this year, where only the higher ranked papers were accepted for presentation at the conference, but will result in approximately the same number of Conference papers accepted for the 2013 GM as were accepted for the 2012 GM.  As a result of these decisions, it is understandable that many authors were disappointed that their paper was not accepted for presentation at the 2013 GM, but we hope the explanation provided here will clarify the reasons for making this decision.

While no author is ever happy to have a paper rejected, our ultimate responsibility as volunteers and leaders within the Power & Energy Society is to our Society and the industry as a whole.  And as volunteer leaders, we are constantly faced with making decisions that may not be appreciated by all members.  The decision on paper limitations made by the Technical Sessions Committee was difficult, but necessary to achieve a balanced program for the 2013 GM.

2013 GM Update:

Finally, we would like to provide an update on plans for Conference paper presentations at the 2013 GM.  In the 2013 Call for Papers, it was announced that the top 60 to 80 accepted conference papers would be selected to be presented in a Conference Paper Session and the majority of accepted conference papers would be scheduled for presentation at the Monday evening poster session.  We had also announced the intention to increase Transactions paper presentations at the GM, but while the submissions of Transactions paper abstracts increased significantly for 2013 there were not as many submitted as we planned for.  As a result, we have planned several conference paper forum sessions to be held Tuesday through Thursday, and will identify over 200 conference papers to be presented in the standard paper forum format.

We will still have the “Top Paper” Sessions on Monday afternoon, featuring the top 60 to 80 accepted Conference papers as chosen by the Technical Sessions Committee members.  And for the first time ever, after the Top Paper presentations, we will select four (4) Prize Conference Papers.  These four prize papers will be identified at the Monday night poster session.

Appeal:

Feedback from our membership is very important for continuous improvement, and we have strived to implement improvements to the GM based on previous comments from our members.  If you have any questions or comments, please email pes@ieee.org.

Finally, we would like to appeal to all PES members, and especially potential authors, to take an active role as technical paper reviewers.  With the increase in paper submissions, the pool of reviewers needs to be increased and reviewers need adequate guidance on review criteria.  This will improve the quality and consistency of reviews, accelerate the review process, and ultimately improve the quality of Conference papers.  Stay tuned for further details.

We are excited about the upcoming 2013 GM and hope to see you there.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey H. Nelson                                  S. S. (Mani) Venkata
Chair, PES Technical Council                  Chair, Technical Sessions Committee

Note: The Technical Sessions Committee is chaired by the Technical Council Vice-Chair and includes a Technical Committee Program Chair (TCPC) from each technical committee and coordinating committee.  The TCPCs are responsible for coordinating and overseeing the reviews for all the submitted GM conference papers, and for coordinating the panel sessions and scheduling requests for their respective committee.