IEC Family

El Salvador joined the Affiliate Country Programme bringing to 78 the total number of countries participating in the Programme.

SMB meeting

The Standardization Management Board (SMB) approved the intermediate report from the Joint IEC-CIGRE Coordination group (JICCG), which is charged to provide guidance to IEC and CIGRE in the development of UHV standardization and a roadmap of standardization of UHV AC technologies.

Further to SMB approval of an initial list of standards as horizontal standards, submitted in accordance with IEC Guide 108, Guidelines for ensuring the coherency of IEC publications - Application of horizontal standards, the SMB noted that this list is not exhaustive and that TCs/SCs can continue to submit standards for SMB consideration.

Launch of Ex Mark

IEC launched a new mark of conformity – the Ex Mark – to serve the needs of the Ex industry in this highly specialized and heavily regulated area. The new Ex safety mark is offered under the auspices of the IEC System for certification to standards relating to equipment for use in explosive atmospheres, or IECEx. The Ex Mark is granted by approved IECEx certifiers (ExCBs) located in participating IECEx countries for equipment that is covered by an IECEx Certificate of Conformity, meaning the equipment has been tested and manufactured under systems that are under ongoing surveillance by ExCBs.

The Ex Mark features the familiar IEC logo as well as a distinctive Ex logo type.
The relevant certificate number will be inserted into the box below the "Ex".
The Ex Mark also exists in black & white, to ease reproduction on the equipment.

An electrotechnical commission for Africa

The African Electrotechnical Standardization Commission, or AFSEC, was inaugurated in Accra, Ghana. The mission of this new electrotechnical standardization body, a subsidiary of the African Union’s Energy Commission, is to focus the continent’s attention on the harmonization of electrotechnical standards through representation by national electrotechnical committees in each country. The IEC has supported the creation of AFSEC from the beginning, attending all preparatory meetings. In November, AFSEC President Claude Koutoua, from Côte d’Ivoire, attended the IEC General Meeting in São Paulo, Brazil, together with one of the three AFSEC Vice-Presidents, Evah Oduor, from Kenya, who was nominated IEC Affiliate Coordinator for Africa.

Delegates and officials attending the inauguration of the new ASFEC body take a break from their busy schedule.

IEC continues to support Academia

The IEC, together with ISO and ITU, participated in the International Cooperation for Education about Standardization (ICES) conference in Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA. The purpose of the workshop was to promote and support awareness of education about standardization worldwide, and focused on the role and importance of standardization in supporting innovation and in facilitating commerce and trade as well as the commercialization of technologies. The 2010 ICES conference is expected to be hosted by IEC, ISO and ITU in Geneva, Switzerland.