Bogdan Leu was elected in Paris as International Chair of the CIGRE Next Generation Network for the 2026-2028 term, a position from which he will coordinate CIGRE’s global community dedicated to professionals under 35 working in the field of power systems. CIGRE NGN gives them access to the organisation’s technical activities, working groups and international community of experts.
In a conversation with Energynomics, Bogdan Leu points out that approximately 32% of CIGRE’s roughly 23,000 members worldwide are professionals under the age of 35. From his perspective, the key is to involve this generation directly in the technical work where solutions that will shape the future operation of power systems are discussed and tested.
CIGRE, an organisation with a history spanning more than 100 years, brings together grid operators, equipment manufacturers, companies and academia. Bogdan Leu highlights the organisation’s role in promoting best practices and standardising certain technologies and processes, which operators follow when preparing new projects.
For Bogdan Leu, the path from a technology presented to the industry to its actual use on the grid necessarily involves testing. It is also the approach he applies as Research & Innovation Project Manager at Transelectrica: identifying relevant technologies, testing them, assessing the results and, if they deliver value to the grid, scaling them up. “We try to identify the newest technologies on the market, to adopt them, to test them,” he says.
One example is Digital Twin, a technology that Transelectrica is already following as part of its innovation activities. “Digital Twin technology is profoundly changing everything related to grid planning, project planning, operations and maintenance,” says Bogdan Leu.
Digital Twin is only one of the directions. At the CIGRE Paris Session 2026, technology providers are increasingly integrating AI into digital solutions and developing autonomous robotics applications for inspecting energy infrastructure. For Bogdan Leu, the shift in emphasis is clear: “This is the first session where I have seen such a strong focus on AI.” The theme ranges from AI’s impact on grids and digitalisation to the infrastructure required for data centres and cybersecurity.
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During his 2026-2028 term, Leu aims to expand the CIGRE NGN network, which is currently present in more than 40 national committees, and to increase the involvement of young professionals in the organisation’s technical activities. “Over the next two years, I want us to develop new opportunities for collaboration, learning and involvement for young energy professionals around the world.”
Bogdan Leu is Research & Innovation Project Manager at Transelectrica, has nine years of experience in the energy sector and holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering.
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