History of the CIRD Iran Liaison Committee

In 1999, through the dedicated efforts of the Tehran Regional Electric Company, particularly Dr. Ahmad Ali Bahmanpour, the CIRED Iran Liaison Committee was established. Comprising key stakeholders from the public and private electricity sectors, alongside distinguished academic professors, Dr. Bahmanpour was appointed as the first Secretary of the committee. Following the approval of the then-Minister of Energy and senior officials of the power industry, a formal request for membership was submitted to the CIRED International Secretariat in Brussels, Belgium. This request was presented to the CIRED International Strategic Committee that same year, and upon approval, Iran was officially admitted as an Associate Member of CIRED International in 1999.

In 2001, during Iran's inaugural year of participation, 30 abstracts were submitted for the Amsterdam Conference in the Netherlands, of which 10 papers were accepted. For the 2003 Barcelona Conference, 23 papers were submitted from Iran, with 12 being accepted. Subsequently, due to the retirement of Dr. Bahmanpour and a lack of dynamic organizational structure within the secretariat, engagement between the SIRD Iran Liaison Committee and CIRED International declined. This decline led CIRED International to issue a formal warning in 2007, stating that Iran’s membership would be revoked if sufficient and necessary activities were not resumed.

In 2008, under the guidance of Tavanir, the CIRED Iran Liaison Committee was reorganized. A new Secretary was appointed and introduced to CIRED International, and the committee was formally integrated into the organizational structure of the Association of Electricity Distribution Companies. Supported by senior officials of the power industry, scientific and research centers, and universities—and leveraging the capacities of the Association of Distribution Companies and other relevant industrial and scientific institutions—the committee took significant strides. These efforts strengthened cooperation with CIRED International, identified and enhanced the scientific and technical capabilities of Iranian researchers, and introduced them to international scientific forums.

The upward trend continued in 2009 at the Prague Conference, where Iran participated with 11 accepted papers. This momentum led to a remarkable achievement at the 2011 Frankfurt Conference, where Iran ranked fifth globally with 31 accepted papers. Building on this success, the continued support of the Association, senior power industry managers, and the tireless efforts of the Secretariat culminated in the Stockholm Conference, where Iran achieved first place globally with 96 accepted papers.

The CIRED International Congress is recognized as the world's most prestigious scientific and practical authority in the field of electric power distribution. Following two decades of successful participation in the congress's conferences and educational workshops, Iran was granted Full Membership in 2016. Prior to this, due to the committee's consistent alignment with the scientific and practical objectives of SIRD International, authorization was granted to host CIRED Regional Conferences in Tehran. Consequently, from 2013 to 2024, eleven (11) Regional Conferences were held in Tehran, with CIRED International representatives attending the 1st, 6th, and 9th conferences as invited and keynote speakers.

To maintain this growing momentum, the 12th CIRED Regional Conference is scheduled to be held in Tehran on October 20-21, 2026 (28-29 Mehr 1405). This bilingual event will bring together industry leaders, practitioners, and researchers from Iran and across the globe. The organizers look forward to receiving high-quality submissions from industry experts and researchers. Through meticulous planning and excellence in execution, the conference aims to contribute significantly to the advancement of the power distribution industry and foster the exchange of scientific knowledge and findings between Iranian and international researchers.

With gratitude,
Secretariat of the CIRED Iran National Committee