By Mazana Armstrong, IEEE PES Chapters Region 7 Representative

IEEE Region 7 encompasses the entire Canada and PES is represented in twelve Canadian IEEE Sections via PES Chapters, some of which are joint chapters with other IEEE technical societies. In 2014 Region 7 PES Chapters appointed two Chapter Representatives for Canada East (Wahab Almuhtadi) and Canada West (Jahangir Khan). Both Wahab and Jahangir are experienced IEEE and PES volunteers. Wahab has been involved with PES Ottawa Chapter in various leadership roles, and Jahangir is a long time IEEE volunteer for Vancouver Section, and most recently the vice-chair of 2013 IEEE PES General Meeting in Vancouver. The new chapter reps assist Region 7 Representative in coordinating PES Chapters activities.

The following is the list of existing PES Chapters in Canada and their chapter chairs:

• Canadian Atlantic Section Joint Chapter, chapter chair Mehran Zamani
• London Section Chapter, chapter chair Maike Luiken
• Montreal Section Chapter, chapter chair Ambrish Chandra
• Ottawa Section Chapter, chapter chair Wahab Almuhtadi
• Toronto Section Chapter, chapter chair Bala Venkatesh
• Kitchener-Waterloo Section Chapter, chapter chair Kankar Bhattacharya
• Hamilton Section Chapter, chapter chair Bogusmaw Bochenski
• Northern Canada Section Joint Chapter, chapter chair Alexandre B Nassif
• Winnipeg Section Chapter, chapter chair Steven Lawrence Howell
• North Saskatchewan Section Joint Chapter, chapter chair Rama Gokaraju
• Southern Alberta Section Chapter, chapter chair Dale Tardiff
• Vancouver Section Joint Chapter, chapter chair Rama Vinnakota

In addition to PES Chapters, Region 7 has two PES student chapters in British Columbia, at the University of British Columbia (UBC), and at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT). Preparations are underway to form a new PES/IAS joint student chapter at the University of Calgary.

Four Region 7 PES chapters were recognized as High Performing Chapters in 2013 (Northern Canada, Ottawa, Southern Alberta and Vancouver). Vancouver Chapter placed second in the membership growth contest for large chapters (17% growth in 2013).

Some of the highlights for chapter activities in 2014 include technical presentations hosted by Northern and Southern Alberta Sections on topics on renewable energy, conductors and raceways design, medium voltage drives and gas insulated switchgear. The Vancouver Section arranged a number of presentations including topics such as, bulk electric system reliability and advances in power system stability. Ottawa Chapter held a half day tutorial on protection systems.