®
Newsletter
IEC Affiliate Country
Programme
January 2014
INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
Affiliate Newsletter No. 30, January 2014
EDITORIAL
IEC makes electrotechnology work for you, and the more you participate, the more you benefit.
Most of you know by now that it is the motto of the IEC as well as the Affiliate Country Programme.
Since September, more benefits are available, turning our Programme into a powerful tool to
facilitate electrification and improve energy access in Affiliate countries. The Affiliate Country
Programme is now fully grown and standing on its two legs: standardization and conformity
assessment, at the image of the IEC. The newly launched ACAS (Affiliate Conformity Assessment
Status) is the indispensable complement to the Affiliate Plus Status, giving you extra tools to get
familiar with and use existing and future IEC Conformity Assessment Systems. The Mentoring
Programme, also launched before the General Meeting, provides a new framework for Affiliates
with a NEC to get more involved in IEC work. The IEC is going out of its way to build new
partnerships to enhance the participation of developing countries in its international standardization
and conformity assessment activities. We are now involved in the UN SE4ALL (Sustainable Energy
for All) initiative through our official commitment to give affordable access to IEC/TS 62257 to all
stakeholders in the IEC Family – IEC Members and Affiliates. We participate regularly in the
SE4ALL Practitioner Network that brings together hundreds of SMEs, NGOs, International
Organizations, the World Bank Group and Lighting Programs for Asia and Africa, etc., to boost
access to energy. We contributed to the WEF (World Economic Forum) Global EAPI (Energy
Architecture Performance Index) Report and we support any regional organization willing to work
closely with us. If 2012 was hailed by the United Nations as the year of Sustainable Energy for All,
the real challenge is now to pursue our efforts, and the UN hence declared 2014-2024 to be the
decade for action. If the SE4ALL initiative was launched by national governments, the private
sector has now a crucial role to play until 2030 to reach the goal of giving access to electricity to
1.3 billion people in the world. IEC likes action and IEC likes involving the private sector through its
National Electrotechnical Committees. We have the tools, you have the willingness to move
forwards with us, so let’s face together this new challenge in 2014. Happy New Year to ALL!
Françoise Rauser
IEC Affiliate Executive Secretary
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Affiliate Newsletter No. 30, January 2014
AFFILIATE LEADER
Dear Affiliate friends and IEC Family members,
Very Happy New Year to ALL at the Affiliate Secretariat and IEC Central Office
and Affiliate participants across the world. Hope this year 2014 bring you real
Peace, Prosperity, Health, and Harmony. Let us all at the Affiliate Country
Programme promise to remain Spirited and Cheerful. Together, let us Hope for the
best and be prepared for facing challenges with confidence.
The year 2013 had been very eventful for the Affiliate Family especially for the
Secretariat. We could push forward programmes such as the ACAS and the
Mentoring scheme across the IEC system and the through participating Affiliate
countries. The annual General Meeting at New Delhi provided us – particularly the Leader and the
Affiliate Secretariat – to take forward our aims and objectives into concretized actions garnering
more support from the IEC Family especially that from the Chairman and the Members of the
Conformity Assessment Board. The support from the IEC General Secretary, Frans Vreeswijk, is
as usual overwhelming and we, at the Affiliate Country Programme, will continue to enjoy this
valuable support and considerations. Mrs Françoise and Denis Chew visited Bhutan as a
continuing programme of IEC 2013 soon after the annual General Meeting, and gave Bhutan and
its NSB, the Bhutan Standards Bureau, the much needed awareness about the IEC Systems and
its approaches to helping the Affiliates. It has been a good opportunity for the Bhutan National
Electrotechnical Committee to get more familiar with the IEC.
I now encourage you to make the most of what is offered by the new ACAS (Affiliate Conformity
Assessment Status) and to sign the ACAS pledge to benefit fully when the e-learning modules will
be online in the coming months. I also wish that those who have asked for a mentoring partnership
will find their mentor in the coming weeks and be able to boost their participation in the
Programme.
I hope Affiliates can do more than what we have been doing to enhance the socio economic
wellbeing of the citizens of the country. We have a few Affiliate countries to wake up to the call of
the Secretariat and I expect full support and co-operations. Each one will be contacted in due
course of time.
I wish you ALL again a good start in 2014.
Yours sincerely,
Phuntsho Wangdi
Affiliate Leader
Thimphu, BHUTAN
Cell: +975 17111574
Email: pwangdi2014@yahoo.com
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Affiliate Newsletter No. 30, January 2014
AFFILIATE NEWS
New Affiliate: Saint Kitts and Nevis
In September 2013, the IEC Affiliate Country Programme welcomed
Saint Kitts and Nevis as its newest participating country. The total number of
countries in the IEC Family is now 166: 83 Affiliates and 83 Members with the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea reinstated as an Associate Member of
the IEC in December 2013.
Amaury Santos, IEC-LARC Regional Manager, had the first contact with Hiram Williams, Director
of Saint Kitts and Nevis Bureau of Standards. During the previous COPANT General Assembly
held in Saint Lucia, 22-24 April 2013, James Matthews III, IEC Vice-President, made a
presentation about the IEC and informed the participants that Nicaragua and Saint Kitts and Nevis
had been invited to join the Affiliate Country Programme. During that General Assembly, with the
presence of Pierre de Ruvo, former IECEE Executive Secretary, all the Caribbean countries were
invited to participate in a closed meeting to speak more about the IEC and the IECEE, where
Hiram Williams was present and showed a strong interest in participating in the IEC Affiliate
Country Programme.
New National Electrotechnical Committee
With the announcement of their participation in the IECEE-AFSEC Seminar, 26-27 August 2013,
and in the AFSEC General Assembly, 28-29 August 2013, Gabon informed the Affiliate Secretariat
in July about the establishment of their NEC (National Electrotechnical Committee). The President
of the Gabonese NEC comes from Prodergie GABON, an industrial company specialized in
industrial automation, remote management, electricity, network, and others, whereas the Secretary
is the Director of Standards and Quality Infrastructure Engineer at the ANTT, the Agency for
Standardization and Technology Transfer. The other NEC Members are from various public and
private sectors: Engineering company, Directorate General for Energy, Directorate General of
Industry and Competitiveness, Electrical Engineering Department from a Professional Training
Centre, National School of Technical Education, Technological Research Institute/National Centre
for Scientific and Technological Research, Telecom, National Council of Water and Electricity, just
to name a few.
New Affiliate Plus
In the Programme since 2003, Ecuador has shown strong and constant participation. Regularly
ordering IEC International Standards for consideration of national adoptions, Ecuador then
selected 10 IEC TCs (Technical Committees) and SCs (Subcommittees): IEC TC 8: Systems
aspects for electrical energy supply, IEC TC 20: Electric cables, IEC TC 21: Secondary cells and
batteries, IEC TC 23: Electrical accessories, IEC SC 34D: Luminaires, IEC TC 61: Safety of
household and similar electrical appliances, IEC TC 62: Electrical equipment in medical practice,
IEC TC 69: Electric road vehicles and electric industrial trucks, IEC TC 82: Solar photovoltaic
energy systems, and IEC TC 105: Fuel cell technologies. In 2003, Ecuador nominated 5 experts
who have access to the working documents of these selected IEC TCs and SCs for commenting.
The Affiliate Secretariat was informed of the establishment of their NEC (National Electrotechnical
Committee) in July 2012. The first national adoptions were declared in August 2011, followed by
more in May and July 2013, which entitled Ecuador to receive the Affiliate Plus Status that month.
The Affiliate Plus Status has been granted to 19 countries since 2009, whereas many other
Affiliates have already fulfilled at least one of the two criteria:
• To have adopted at least 50 IEC International Standards as national ones or for reference
in national regulations.
• To have established a NEC (National Electrotechnical Committee) with representatives
from both public and private sectors.
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Affiliate Newsletter No. 30, January 2014
 More on the NEC, see guidelines in English and in Spanish.
 Don’t forget to inform us when yours is set up.
Selection of Technical Committees/Subcommittees
In September 2013, Cameroon informed the Affiliate Secretariat of the selection of 6 IEC TCs
(Technical Committees) and SCs (Subcommittees), which are AFSEC mirror committees:
IEC TC 8: Systems aspects for electrical energy supply, IEC TC 13: Electrical energy
measurement and control, IEC TC 57: Power systems management and associated information
exchange, IEC TC 64: Electrical installations and protection against electric shock, IEC TC 77:
Electromagnetic compatibility, and IEC TC 82: Solar photovoltaic energy systems.
Cameroon’s future experts will have access to the relevant IEC technical documents with the
possibility of submitting comments on documents at CD stage (Committee Draft) and CDV stage
(Committee Draft for Vote) of the standards.
Active in the Programme
Following its admission to the Affiliate Country Programme in April 2013, South Sudan has been
benefiting from the Programme since July when it ordered its first series of IEC International
Standards for consideration of national adoption. Their interests are mainly high-voltage and lowvoltage engineering (test techniques, cables, fuses, switchgear and controlgear, etc).
Additional national adoptions
While some countries were busy establishing their NEC and becoming Affiliate Plus, others were
busy adopting IEC International Standards as national ones. Ethiopia, Ghana, Rwanda and
Zimbabwe declared their additional national adoptions which brings to 3’854 the total of national
adoptions in Affiliate countries
 Don’t forget to send the Declaration of Adoption form with the list of the adopted standards
to the Affiliate Secretary (affiliates@iec.ch).
77TH IEC GENERAL MEETING
The 77th IEC General Meeting took place in New
Delhi, India, 21-25 October 2013. We were
pleased to see familiar faces and also welcome
some new delegates for the first time at the
IEC General Meeting. The events were a great
success and we also wish to express our
heartfelt thanks to the Indian National
Committee who were most gracious hosts. The
highlights of the week were the Affiliate Forum
and the Workshop for Industrializing Countries
which both generated much discussion and we
received very positive feedback from both
Affiliates and Members alike.
Affiliate Forum
At the Affiliate Forum, 23 Affiliate delegates represented 12 countries: Afghanistan, Bhutan,
Botswana, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Namibia, Papua New
Guinea, Rwanda, Tanzania and Yemen. They were joined by 6 delegates from 6 IEC Member
countries: Austria, China, India, Japan, Kenya and South Africa. The Forum was chaired by the
Affiliate Leader, Phuntsho Wangdi, with the participation of Evah Oduor, the Affiliate Coordinator
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Affiliate Newsletter No. 30, January 2014
for Africa, as well as Claude Koutoua, AFSEC President, and Amaury Santos, the Manager of
IEC-LARC (IEC Regional Centre for Latin America).
We heard with much interest the good work and progress made by the Ethiopian NEC (National
Electrotechnical Committee). This was followed by a Q&A session with many pertinent questions
raised, showing just how the experience of one NEC could help other countries to develop their
NEC. Claude Koutoua asked about Ethiopia’s involvement with IECEE; Mrs Masego Marobela,
Managing Director of BOBS (Botswana Bureau of Standards) asked about the challenges that the
Ethiopian NEC had faced in addressing IEC International Standards; and Mr Sulaiman Salehi,
Afghanistan NEC Member, asked them how they went about getting private industry using these
standards.
Following the IEC Affiliate Executive Secretary’s presentation, the focus of the discussion turned
towards the Mentoring Programme for Affiliates, with many questions asked directly to Christian
Gabriel, Austria NC (National Committee) Secretary, and Olivier Mukeshimana, Rwanda NEC
Secretary, who had joined us representing the very first mentoring partnership established under
the Programme. Christian Gabriel also commented on the use of net conferencing for mentoring
and how excited he was to take part in this Programme.
The Forum was very interactive as we heard from many participants including Bhutan, DRC,
Ghana, Namibia, Tanzania and Yemen. Our IEC Member country representatives were also invited
to comment, notably Dejun MA of China and Vice-Chairman of IEC TC 61 who also mentioned his
continued interest in hearing the views of Affiliate countries for the work of IEC TC 61.
Following the presentations and discussions, the group broke into two regional sessions on Africa
and Asia with Affiliate Leader, Phuntsho Wangdi, chairing the regional session on Asia-Pacific, and
Evah Oduor, the Affiliate Coordinator for Africa, chairing the regional session on Africa.
 See Affiliate Forum presentations online.
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Affiliate Newsletter No. 30, January 2014
Workshop for Industrializing Countries
The Workshop for Industrializing Countries on the theme of Solar photovoltaic energy standards for
developing countries, was very well received both by our IEC Affiliate delegates and IEC Member
delegates. Twenty-four Affiliate delegates represented 13 countries: Afghanistan, Bhutan,
Botswana, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Namibia,
Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Tanzania and Yemen. The 26 IEC Member delegates represented
12 countries in attendance: Canada, China, India, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, Republic of Korea,
Romania, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa and United Arab Emirates. Following a welcome
address by Phuntsho Wangdi, our speakers included Arne Jacobson and Geoff Stapleton from
IEC TC 82/JWG 1, Alex Mboa from the Kenyan NC and Ruud Kempener from IRENA
(International Renewable Energy Agency).
The Workshop was animated by Françoise Rauser, IEC Affiliate Executive Secretary, and the
speaker presentations elicited considerable interest as evidenced by many questions and
comments from Affiliates and Members.
Issues were raised on speakers’ presentations such as the challenge of electrifying remote villages
in Bhutan due to the rugged landscape and promoting rural electrification in general, the
harmonization of standards, the application of tariffs to electricity import, or grid synchronization.
IRENA had an impact on the audience regarding their commitment to help Africa double the
renewable share. Both delegates and speakers found the workshop highly interesting and
interactive.
Françoise concluded the discussions by reminding delegates about the importance of their right to
comment on documents through the Affiliate Country Programme and made a call for delegates to
use the Mentoring Programme, and members to provide assistance.
 See Workshop presentations online.
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Affiliate Newsletter No. 30, January 2014
NEXT GENERAL MEETING: TOKYO 2014
The 78th IEC General Meeting will be held in Tokyo, Japan, 10-14 November 2014. Our Affiliate
main contacts and NEC Secretaries will receive a paper copy of the programme when it becomes
available. Registration will also be available online through MRS (Meeting Registration System) in
April/May and we will email you when this happens.
NEW: NEC Secretary and NEC Chair Workshop
For the first time this year, the Affiliate Country Programme Secretariat will be organizing a NEC
Secretary and NEC Chair Workshop. This initiative comes at the request of our Affiliate NECs and
will provide a work session for NEC Secretaries and NEC Chairs to participate in. For this reason,
we hope that your NEC representatives will be many to attend and we look forward to seeing you
there. The Affiliate Forum will continue to be held for ALL Affiliate delegates and mentors.
MENTORING PROGRAMME FOR AFFILIATES
The Affiliate Secretariat is pleased to report that, following the
announcement of the Mentoring Programme for Affiliates in
August 2013 through the Dialogue 19 document and
Administrative Circular AC/22/2013, a mentoring partnership has
begun between Austrian NC (National Committee) and Rwandan
NEC (National Electrotechnical Committee). This partnership
was established in September 2013 and was represented at the
77th IEC General Meeting in New Delhi, India, by Christian
Gabriel, Secretary of the Austrian NC, and Olivier Mukeshimana,
Secretary of Rwandan NEC.
Four other Affiliate countries have now requested a Mentor and the Affiliate Country Programme
Secretariat is in discussion with a number of Member countries to facilitate these new partnerships.
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The Mentoring Programme takes place through one-to-ones established between your NECs and
IEC NCs, to assist you in making full use of the Affiliate Country Programme and benefitting as
much as possible from your Affiliate country status. Affiliate Plus countries have priority to receive
a mentor.
For the Mentoring Programme, we propose two levels of mentoring, one for management and one
for technical aspects.
Management level mentoring is for the benefit of the NEC Secretary which focuses on, amongst
others, the reinforcement of a NEC, establishment of mirror committees and the adoption of
IEC International Standards.
Technical level mentoring will focus on, amongst others, organizing meetings of mirror committees,
working process for comments on technical documents (CD/CDV) and guidance for understanding
requirements in the standards (prepared by TC/SCs identified by the Affiliate for mentoring). This
mentoring will be provided by volunteer IEC experts.
We expect these partnerships to last a maximum of 2 years, with the objective of establishing an
enduring relationship between the NC and the NEC, and increasing Affiliate country participation in
IEC work.
 To receive an application form or for more information about the Mentoring Programme,
please contact Thomas Robertson: rob@iec.ch
ACAS Benefits
The Affiliate Secretariat is pleased to announce the launch on the 1st of August 2013 of the ACAS
(Affiliate Conformity Assessment Status) through the Dialogue 21 document. Following the launch
of ACAS, the Affiliate Secretariat is happy to report that 10 Affiliate countries have now signed the
pledge (Annex A) and obtained the ACAS.
The following countries have signed the ACAS Pledge:
Afghanistan
Azerbaijan
Côte D’Ivoire
DRC
Ethiopia
Ghana
Rwanda
Sudan
Uruguay
Zambia
Through ACAS, these countries have already received access to the online database of IECEE
certificates and in the coming weeks will gain access to the ACAS E-learning modules.
The ACAS was developed in conjunction with the IEC CAB (Conformity Assessment Board) and
was formally approved by the CAB Members during their bi-annual meeting held on the 10th of
June 2013 in Geneva (CAB Decision 33/12).
The ACAS is a new status offered to Affiliate Country Programme participants which includes new
benefits in all IEC Conformity Assessment Systems – IECEE, IECQ and IECEx – including the
future CA System on Renewable Energy, IECRE, to be established by the IEC.
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Affiliate Newsletter No. 30, January 2014
The new status offers a range of benefits including:
• Regional awareness events (See below for the upcoming ACAS IECEx International
Conference in Kuala Lumpur, February 2014)
• Documentation and guides on Conformity Assessment at the IEC
• Learning modules on IEC website and CD-ROMs (under development, launching early
2014)
• Webinars (upon request)
• A resource database (under development)
• Active participation in each system, based on prerequisite training conditions
The objective is to help Affiliate countries to use IEC International Standards and to benefit from its
Conformity Assessment Systems through the recognition of IEC CA certificates, whenever possible
at the national level.
 To request the ACAS pledge or for more information about ACAS, please contact Thomas
Robertson: rob@iec.ch
ACAS IECEx 2014 International Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 19-20 February 2014
As part of the IEC’s ongoing commitment to support conformity assessment activities in Affiliate
countries, we take this opportunity to remind you of the upcoming ACAS IECEx 2014 International
Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 19-20 February 2014, organized in partnership with
UNECE and Standards Malaysia.
This event is a unique networking opportunity during which world experts will share their
experience and knowledge over the course of two days. A certificate of participation will be issued
and an invitation to the Gala Dinner is included. The event is free of charge, while travel and
accommodation costs are borne by participants.
 For further details and to reserve a place for this important event, please visit the official
conference website.
AFSEC IEC COLLABORATION
The third AFSEC General Assembly – IECEE Seminar
In September, Françoise represented the IEC
at the third AFSEC General Assembly held in
Nairobi, Kenya. This event brought together
over 60 delegates coming from most of the 14
African countries and organisations that have
joined AFSEC: Benin, Côte D’Ivoire, DRC,
Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Libya, Namibia, Nigeria,
Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan,
Zambia as well as observers from Angola,
Botswana, Ethiopia, Gabon, and Tanzania.
The delegates also included representatives
from African sub-regional and continental organisations, many of which are also members of
AFSEC, as well as from supporting organisations such as AFRAC, ARSO, CENELEC, NEPAD and
PTB. All delegates had the opportunity to attend the 2nd seminar on conformity assessment, which
the IEC arranged together with AFSEC. The topic selected by AFSEC Members was the safety of
electrical appliances. IEC international experts from China (Ling Vicky ZHANG, DEKRA Group),
France (Jean Lanzo, LCIE B.V.) and Italy (Fabio Gargantini, ELECTROSUISSE – IEC TC 59)
supported the former IECEE Executive Secretary, Pierre de Ruvo, by sharing their expertise with
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Affiliate Newsletter No. 30, January 2014
AFSEC delegates. During two days, they explored the panoply of IEC International Standards that
can be used to check the conformity of refrigerators, luminaires and televisions. The seminar
included a visit to Kenyan laboratories (KEBS, Associated Battery Manufacturers Ltd and Power
Technics Ltd) in order to put theory into practice. The second part of the week was dedicated to the
AFSEC General Assembly, reviewing the work of the five mirror committees of the IEC (AFSEC TC
8, TC 13, TC 57, TC 64 and TC 77). By a vote, AFSEC Members decided to add TC 82 to the list,
as rural electrification is a key issue in Africa. AFSEC is now planning to set up a conformity
assessment committee to further expand its standardization work. The new CA committee will be
launched at the next General Assembly to be held in September 2014 in the Democratic Republic
of the Congo, back to back with a seminar on IECEx. The IECEx event will be a follow up on the
one held in Abidjan in 2012, focussing this time on mining activities.
AFSEC will be organizing the first Smart Grid Forum for Africa, to be held in Abidjan, Côte D’Ivoire,
14-16 May 2014. The conference aims to inform and share experience on:
•
•
•
•
•
Technological shift towards Smart Grids
Evolution of regulations and standards inherent to Smart Grids
Issues and profits from producer to consumer
Performance of the public Smart Grids for electricity distribution
Solutions provided by enterprises and suppliers
The conference will help African experts and managers to build their capacities regarding Smart
Grids in view of developing a strategy for African countries to become emerging economies.
The forum will address topics both upstream and downstream of the smart meter, electricity
production, transportation and distribution, demand side management, energy storage as well as
consumer services. It will also give suppliers the opportunity to exhibit their equipment and share
their solutions.
 For information on AFSEC General Assembly and Africa Smart Grid Forum 2014, please
contact: secretariat@afsec-africa.org
 For information about the IECEx Seminar, please contact: rob@iec.ch or
secretariat@afsec-africa.org
MEETING WITH AFFILIATES
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Back to back with the AFSEC General Assembly, Françoise made an official visit to the OCC
(Office Congolais de Contrôle), at the request of the NEC (National Electrotechnical Committee), in
Kinshasa and then went on to Lubumbashi. In Kinshasa, she had the opportunity to meet the OCC
Directors and staff, to hold one day conference with 120 stakeholders and NEC Members, to
attend high level meetings with the national government including the President Office, the Prime
Minister Office, the Ministry of Economy and Trade, the Ministry of Hydraulic Resources and
Electricity. Fruitful exchanges took place with SNEL (national electricity company) whose Director
General is the NEC President. During the Kinshasa conference, Françoise met with the Minister of
Telecommunications and New Technologies, the Federation of Congolese SMEs as well as the
Associations of Consumers and Electricians. The DRC NEC structure is already very large and has
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a regional branch in Lubumbashi, the Capital of Katanga. The
purpose of her visit was to support the newly established provincial
NEC and raise the awareness on IEC International Standards and
Conformity Assessment Systems, in particular IECEx, as Katanga is
the country’s main industrial mining province. IEC met the Governor
of the Province and the Provincial Assembly Vice-President and
organized a workshop for the provincial NEC and a webinar with the
collaboration of IECEx expert from Sydney. The workshop brought
together 60 participants with the participation of the mining authorities
and the provincial Minister of Energy.
The visit was intense and very enriching. The NEC Secretary and
OCC Executives made outstanding efforts to organize high level
meetings with the authorities who could play a role in supporting the
newly born NEC and its provincial branch in Katanga. DRC is now an
active member of AFSEC and has the intention to get more involved
with the IEC in the years to come. In September, DRC will be hosting
the fourth AFSEC General Assembly as well as the second IECExAFSEC seminar.
Bhutan
After the 77th IEC General Meeting in New Delhi, Françoise flew to
Bhutan with Dennis Chew, Director of the IEC-APRC (IEC AsiaPacific Regional Centre), to visit the NEC (National Electrotechnical
Committee) and the BSB (Bhutan Standards Bureau). On a request
from the Affiliate Leader, Phuntsho Wangdi, BSB Director, the IEC
held a workshop for the stakeholders and provided some training to
the Members of the newly establish NEC. It was the opportunity for
Françoise and Dennis to meet with the Bhutan Electricity Authority
(regulators), the Renewable Energy Department and the Minister of Economic Affairs, H.E. Lyonpo
Norbu Wangchuk. During the workshop, IEC‘s presentations focused on rural electrification and
renewable energy as well as IEC Conformity Assessment Activities addressing 46 participants
coming from the electrotechnical sector, including governmental agencies, rural electrification
programmes, renewable energy programmes, certification, some regulators and representatives
from the Bhutanese telecoms and the ministry of economic affairs. Françoise continued with the
visit of the Punatsangchhu-I Hydroelectric Project. Jointly managed by Bhutan and India, the
project is the first step towards a huge complex that will include phase II (1020 MW) and other
subsequent phases to reach 10 000 MW by 2020. This will complete the existing Chukha (336
MW), Kurichu (60 MW) and Tala (1020 MW), using 357m fall available in about 11km river course.
Françoise and Tandin Wangchuk, the NEC Secretary, took the occasion to discuss with the
managing team how they could get involved in the NEC.
The objective now is to become Affiliate Plus and to apply for ACAS.
Peru NEC Secretary
Carmela Morgan, Secretary of the Peruvian NEC, took the opportunity of a stay in Geneva to visit
the Affiliate Secretariat. Peru joined the Affiliate Country Programme in 2002 before becoming an
Affiliate Plus in October 2010. Peru has been making extensive use of the Programme, declaring
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national adoptions of IEC International Standards every year. Carmela discussed the latest
progress of the Peruvian NEC and their roadmap for participation in IEC work.
Affiliate from Côte D’Ivoire
François Ahoti, Director Standardization & Certification at CODINORM, the National Standards
Body of Côte D’Ivoire, was also in Geneva and took the opportunity to meet with the Affiliate
Secretariat. François related his important work, within the framework of UNIDO’s capacity building,
to provide training sessions for Haitian committees on standards development and conformity
assessment. It was the occasion for Thomas to discuss with François on the subject of the newly
available Affiliate benefits. Côte D’Ivoire is part of the first countries to have signed the ACAS
pledge and to benefit from this new status. Following this visit, the Affiliate Secretariat was
informed of Côte D’Ivoire’s request to join IECEE.
 It is always a pleasure to receive our Affiliates when you are in Geneva. Please do not
hesitate to contact us to arrange a meeting; you are always welcome at the IEC Central
Office.
INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION FOR DEVELOPPING COUNTRIES
124 countries ranked by ability to deliver secure, affordable and sustainable Energy
On 11 December 2013, Françoise represented the IEC at the launch of the WEF (World Economic
Forum) Global Energy Architecture Performance Index Report 2014, as part of the expert panel.
The Index assesses world regions and 124 countries according to economic growth, environmental
sustainability and energy security performance. Norway tops the Index rankings, followed by New
Zealand and France. The top ten is dominated by EU and OECD countries with the exception of
Costa Rica and Colombia, 41% of energy supply in the top ten countries comes from low carbon
energy sources, compared to a global average of 28%. IEC Affiliate countries from the Latin
American region have done well, with the following results amongst the 50 first countries.
Energy Architecture Performance
Index (EAPI))
Country
Costa Rica
Peru
Uruguay
Paraguay
El Salvador
Panama
Ecuador
Score
0.67
0.65
0.64
0.63
0.57
0.56
0.56
Rank
9
18
23
24
44
48
50
Economic
growth and
development
Score
0.68
0.78
0.65
0.66
0.52
0.64
0.56
Environmental
stability
Energy access
and security
Score
0.56
0.46
0.53
0.62
0.53
0.45
0.43
Score
0.77
0.70
0.73
0.61
0.57
0.60
0.68
 You can access the report online.
 You can access the press release also available in French and Spanish:
UNECE WP6 – 23RD Session
Frans Vreeswijk, IEC General Secretary & CEO, David Hanlon, CAB Secretary, and Françoise
Rauser, Affiliate Executive Secretary, presented IEC work at the UNECE (United Nations
Economic Commission for Europe) Working Party 6 annual meeting, held in Geneva,
18-20 November 2013. Twenty-six countries were represented as well as several organizations:
ASTM International, CEN/CENELEC (European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization),
Eurasian Economic Commission, European Commission, IEC (International Electrotechnical
Commission), ISO (International Organization for Standardization), OECD (Organisation for
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Affiliate Newsletter No. 30, January 2014
Economic Co-operation and Development), OIML (International Organization of Legal Metrology),
RSPP (Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs), UNIDO (United Nations Industrial
Development Organization), UNMIK (UN Administration Mission in Kosovo), WTO (World Trade
Organization) and UNFCC (UN Framework Convention on Climate Change). It was the occasion
for Frans Vreeswijk to address the participants on standards and regulatory frameworks. IECEx
(IEC System for Certification to Standards Relating to Equipment for Use in Explosive
Atmospheres) has been endorsed by UNECE as the international model for safety regulation in Ex
areas. On 19-20 February 2014, IEC/IECEx and UNECE will hold an international conference in
Kuala Lumpur with the collaboration of the Department of Standards Malaysia.
 For more information on the conference please visit the IECEx website
IEC also collaborates further with UNECE regarding the UN GAR (Global Assessment Report) on
Disaster Risk Reduction 2015. The Affiliate Secretariat thanks the NEC Secretaries from
Afghanistan, Côte D’Ivoire, DRC, Ghana, Sudan and Uganda for sharing their country experience
and enabling the IEC to give some examples of challenges in developing countries.
SE4ALL – Energy Access Practitioner Network workshops
As a partner of the UN SE4ALL (Sustainable Energy for All Initiative), the IEC takes part in monthly
calls and workshops organized by the Energy Access Practitioner Network.
Advancing Energy Access in South Asia: Forum held in Patna, Bihar, India, 10-12
September 2013
IEC-APRC representative, Suzanne Yap, was panellist in
the session titled “Setting the Right Policy Frameworks”.
The forum provided over 130 participants an opportunity to
share best practices and ongoing work underway for
entrepreneurs delivering decentralized energy services in
India and in other south Asian countries where mini-grid
and off-grid clean energy solutions in particular are
relevant to achieving universal energy access. During the
panel session, the work of the IEC and the IEC Technical
Specification (IEC/TS 62257) on rural electrification had
drawn interest from the forum participants, in particular the discount offered by the IEC on this
series for stakeholders in countries in the IEC Family that involved in the SE4ALL initiative.
 More about the forum
 More on Suzanne’s participation
Rural Energy Access: A Nexus Approach to Sustainable Development and Poverty
Eradication, Conference held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 4-6 December 2013
IEC was represented by Paul Johnson, Secretary of the IEC South African National Committee
who is also AFSEC Executive Secretary. The main theme of the Conference, which was organized
by UN DESA, in collaboration with SE4All (Sustainable Energy for All), UN-Energy and the
Economic Commission for Africa, was the essential role that access to energy services has for
enabling sustainable development and poverty eradication. Over 250 participants from 40
countries attended the Conference.
Grid access to electricity will only be feasible initially for some 20% (150M) of the African
population yet to have access, while mini-grid systems will cater for some 30% (275M). Hence
some 50% will rely on pico/stand-alone systems for many years. This was underpinned by the
exhibition, which was dominated by suppliers of ‘solar pico-systems”, both imported plug and play
systems and also some systems being assembled locally. Such systems will need to be the
subject of appropriate standards and quality assurance for them to be durable and reliable. One of
the repeated threads, and in line with the theme of the IEC/AFSEC presentation, was the
recognition of the need for standards, quality assurance in all aspects of providing durable and
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Affiliate Newsletter No. 30, January 2014
reliable technologies. Hence one of the 18 recommendations of the Conference was that
“Technical standards for energy service delivery and energy systems appropriate for rural areas be
developed to ensure quality and efficiency”.
 More about the conference on the UN Sustainable development knowledge platform
website
 Statements and presentations
 Paul Johnson’s presentation on IEC Family in Africa:
FLASH NEWS
•
Electric car plan in Bhutan: The Financial Times announced that, by March this year,
official government vehicles in Bhutan will be replaced by the Nissan Leaf, an electric car.
Taxis and family cars will be gradually replaced by locally assembled electric vehicles.
Bhutan is placing an emphasis on environmental sustainability which is an important part of
their “gross national happiness” approach to policy. This initiative will allow the Bhutanese
government to move away from oil-dependent mobility and focus on zero-emission
transport. The city of Thimpu is also ideally suited for the initiative, given the usual short
travel distances involved and its inhabitant’s frequent use of taxis. Thimpu also has the
availability of power from local hydroelectric plants which could mean considerably reduced
costs for drivers who, until now, have had to rely on purchasing fossil fuels.
•
New IECEE Executive Secretary: The former IECEE Executive Secretary, Pierre de Ruvo
has retired last December, and has been replaced by Kerry McManama as of 1st of January
2014. You will find all the IECEE Officers on this link.
•
The 4th annual IEA Energy Training Week 2014: IEC collaborates occasionally with the
IEA (International Energy Agency) and is happy to draw your attention to the 4th annual IEA
Energy Training Week 2014 that will be held in Paris, France, 7-11 April.
It will be the occasion for participants to become familiar with the theory and application of
the IEA’s internationally recognised models and tools. The event is primarily targeted at
developing countries and emerging economies. The training is free of charge, but
participants will have to cover their own travel and accommodation costs.
 For more information please visit the IEA website.
•
Next steps in 2014:
o ACAS IECEx 2014 International Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,
19-20 February 2014
o IEC General Secretary at 14th Annual African Utility Week
Conference, Cape Town, 13-14 May 2014
o IEC General Secretary at AFSEC Africa Smart Grid Forum 2014, Abidjan,
Côte D’Ivoire, 14-16 May 2014
o IECEx-AFSEC seminar in Democratic Republic of the Congo, September 2014
o Project of an IEC Regional Centre for Africa
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Affiliate Newsletter No. 30, January 2014
Françoise Rauser
IEC Affiliate Executive Secretary
Phuntsho Wangdi
IEC Affiliate Leader
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Affiliate Newsletter No. 30, January 2014
Annex A
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Affiliate Newsletter No. 30, January 2014
Annex B
Affiliate Cocktail photos
17
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