Irish engineer to chair international power system committee

An Irish engineer has been appointed to chair an international committee of young professionals sharing expertise from power systems across the world.

Conor Mulholland, a Senior Project Engineer with electricity grid operator EirGrid, will take up the position of chair of the Next Generation Network section of the France-based body CIGRE.

TU Dublin graduate and Kildare native Mulholland will take up chairmanship of the respected committee for a period of two years following his election to the position by all 37 voting countries. His appointment will be officially ratified at a CIGRE conference in Paris this week.

He will be the first ever Irish chair of the Next Generation Network section, which will involve overseeing bi-monthly meetings of committee members from some of the world’s most advanced power systems, as well as regular interactions with the influential steering committee of the broader CIGRE collective.

“It’s really good news for Ireland and EirGrid because it puts us at the heart of an international network of young professionals, and shows that we’re at the forefront of driving  technological advancement and power system knowledge-sharing,” Mulholland (27) said of his appointment.

“My ambition will be to grow the network of young professionals as much as we can.

“We currently have  43 countries represented at the moment, including from advanced power systems such as the US, UK and Australia, which allows for valuable knowledge sharing. We’ve recently welcomed new members including from Belgium, Chile and Argentina, but there is definitely further potential to expand and that’s something I want to prioritise during my time as chair, so that we can add further expertise from different regions,” he added.

The knowledge-sharing enabled through CIGRE has huge practical benefits, according to Mulholland. He cites examples of practical progress this has supported, including in the area of Dynamic Line Rating – a technological innovation that allows greater amounts of electricity to be conducted through overhead lines in different (‘dynamic’) temperature conditions.

Whereas Ireland is learning from other power systems that are further ahead on some topics, there is also an opportunity to share our own achievements such as the high levels of renewables on the Irish transmission system achieved through system non-synchronous penetration (known as SNSP).

Mulholland also namechecks offshore renewable energy as a huge growth area where Ireland can learn from a wealth of existing international experience.

His role in EirGrid involves overseeing the connection of renewable energy projects, as well as projects vital to ensuring security of supply for Ireland’s electricity grid.

“I joined EirGrid through the graduate programme after graduating in 2019. Soon after that I got involved with CIGRE’s Next Generation Network committee in Ireland, which is open to young professionals under the age of 35 from organisations across the power system, including system operators and private companies,” said Mulholland.

“From a personal point of view CIGRE has been very beneficial for my professional expertise in the power system industry. Through attending conferences and interacting with international colleagues, I’ve been fortunate enough to present on technical work I’ve completed to an international audience, and also be nominated for industry awards over the course of my involvement. CIGRE has provided similar opportunities for other members of EirGrid, which is brilliant for any young professional.

“My EirGrid colleague Marta Val Escudero is also the current chair of a CIGRE study committees, so these are two key positions which puts Ireland in a fantastic place right at the centre of power system development globally.”

In its role as Transmission System Operator, EirGrid is aiming to transform the electricity grid to make it renewable-ready, in line with Ireland’s Climate Action Plan commitments.