IEC President attends the COPANT Assembly in Santo Domingo

From left to right: Julio Santana, General Director DIGENOR, Manuel Diaz Portocarrero, Executive Secretary COPANT, Peter Clark, President of COPANT at the time, Jacques Régis, President IEC

The COPANT (Pan American Standards Commission) General Assembly was held on 11-14 May 2009 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Organized by DIGENOR (Dirección General de Normas y Sistemas de Calidad), it was attended by members of COPANT, international organizations, guests and observers.

The IEC was represented by President Jacques Régis and by Amaury Santos, Regional Manager of the IEC-LARC (Latin American Regional Centre) in São Paulo, Brazil.

The first session opened with speeches by Julio Santana, General Director of DIGENOR, Peter Clark, then President of COPANT, and José Ramón Fadul, Secretary of State for Industry and Commerce of the Dominican Republic.

Working sessions chaired by Clark, then President COPANT, and Executive Secretary Manuel Diaz Portocarrero followed. Subjects included status reports on a number of current projects, including that of the SG 1, the IEC Standardization Management Board's Strategic Group responsible for energy efficiency. There were also reports on some other major activities including IEC Council, SMB (Standardization Management Board), CAB (Conformity Assessment Board), FINCA (the Forum of IEC National Committees of the Americas) and the IECEE (the IEC System of Conformity Assessment Schemes for Electrotechnical Equipment and Components).

Santos presented various IEC activities relevant to the IEC-LARC, emphasizing the importance of remaining up to date with current projects. He also expressed the willingness of the IEC-LARC to support numerous COPANT activities.

FINCA gathering also held during COPANT

FINCA took advantage of the Assembly to hold its own gathering, which was attended by various IEC members, COPANT members together with a local audience.

The meeting was divided into two sections, the first of which covered some of the general activities of members since the last report at the meeting in Atlanta, United States of America, in October 2008.

The presentations by Keith Rodel of the Canadian NC (National Committee), Ivan Luis Hernandez of the Mexican NC and Jim Matthews of the United States NC were followed by a special presentation by Peruvian delegate Rosario Uría Toro, whose country is an active participant in the IEC Affiliate Country Programme.

Uría reported a significant rise in standardization activities in Peru, including a new regulatory framework, and also some of the finer points that need to be addressed to continue this process of growth.

The second section covered various aspects of CA (Conformity Assessment) with presentations from Mario Wittner of the Argentinian NC, Rafael Nava of the Mexican NC and Joan Sterling of the United States NC.

Santos gave a report on regional activities, underlining the possibility for future regional events in conjunction with FINCA members.

Special workshop on technical standards, energy efficiency and renewable energies

Assembly participants were given the opportunity to attend a special workshop, organized by DIGENOR, providing some of the latest information on energy efficiency and renewable energies, a subject of global concern.

The local audience consisted of an impressive participation of more than 200 people from various related sectors in the Dominican Republic.

Delegates were able to learn about the work being carried out by the Dominican Republic with the aim to find sufficient sources of energy to meet current needs and future growth of the country.

The IEC contributed with two presentations, of which the first, "Standardization and Conformity Assessment for the Energy Efficiency Challenges", was given by Régis. He approached some of the technical issues from the broad spectrum the IEC covers with its Strategic Groups, Technical Committees and Subcommittees.

The second presentation was given by Santos on the theme of "Recommendations for small renewable energy and hybrid systems for rural electrification", and was based on the IEC 62257 series of Technical Specifications.

He set out first to show attendees a technical solution based on an experience of standardization, particularly in an area of electrification that represents a common problem to many developing countries. Second, he demonstrated how standardization provides a practical and objective solution to improving safety and quality of life by applying the latest technologies in conserving resources and the environment. His presentation was followed with interest, and a number of the participants requested further details on the subject.