The 12th China International Conference on Electricity Distribution (CICED 2026) was held in Guangzhou from September 15 to September 18, bringing together more than 500 power experts, engineers and academics from China and abroad to discuss how electricity grids can adapt to the rapid growth of renewable energy.
The conference focused on the challenges posed by the large-scale integration of solar power, energy storage and electric vehicles. As more of these resources are connected to power grids, electricity providers face growing difficulties in keeping supply and demand in balance, managing many small and dispersed energy sources and ensuring reliable power supplies for cities.
Experts from Italy, the UK and the International Renewable Energy Agency called for grid planning to move beyond traditional approaches based on fixed forecasts and make greater use of probability-based assessments across different scenarios.
They also highlighted the potential of vehicle-to-grid technology and distributed solar power to help balance the grid, while stressing that artificial intelligence must be used in power systems in ways that respect the basic physical principles of electricity networks.
A roundtable on urban power supply brought together experts from China and South Korea to discuss virtual power plants, the coordination of distributed energy resources and the resilience of densely-populated cities against extreme weather and other disruptions.
The conference included 12 sessions covering topics such as AI-enabled distribution grids, energy storage, cybersecurity and electricity market mechanisms. Participants also visited a near-zero-carbon power distribution demonstration project in Guangzhou to see how new technologies are being applied in rural areas.
Held every two years since 2000, CICED is China's leading international conference on electricity distribution and has become a forum for exchanging experience between China's power industry and the rest of the world.
Author | Liu Xiaodi
Photo | Nanfang Plus
