Industry leaders gathering at KEMA Utility of the Future executive conference

Dialog to explore navigating technology, infrastructure strategies and policies for a sustainable energy future

BURLINGTON, Mass. (April 2, 2009) – KEMA (www.kema.com) is gathering senior utility and energy industry executives, regulators and other key stakeholders to discuss how emerging energy and sustainability policies will shape the utility future and how the industry can position itself for continued success in the future. KEMA's second annual Utility of the Future executive conference, “Navigating energy sustainability,” is being held June 17 – 19, 2009 at the Grand Hyatt Washington hotel, Washington DC.  

Energy infrastructure and efficiency are front and center on today’s national agenda. Government stimulus combined with new directions in environmental policies will have a significant impact on utility planning, operations, reliability, security, and investments.  

Designed in concert with an advisory panel of insightful, forward-thinking senior industry executives, the Utility of the Future conference is addressing critical issues utilities and energy industry stakeholders face in developing clean, more responsive generation and more intelligent transmission and distribution. The conference will feature keynote addresses and eight panel discussions, featuring insights from the industry’s leading authorities.  

Confirmed keynote speakers feature: 

• Terry Boston, CEO, PJM Interconnection

• Dick Rosenblum, CEO, Hawaiian Electric Company

• David Mohler, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Duke Energy

• Katherine Hamilton, President, Gridwise Alliance

Panel moderators and speakers confirmed to date include:  

• Bill Moroney, CEO, Utilities Telecom Council (UTC)

• Don Cortez, Vice President, Regulated Operations Technology, CenterPoint Energy

• Brad Roberts, President, Energy Storage Association and Director, S&C Electric Company

• Livio Gallo, Network Manager, Enel

• Richard Ivanauskas, Policy Advisor to Commissioner Philip Moeller, FERC

• Julie Blunden, Vice President Public Policy and Corporate Communications, SunPower Corporation

• Don Denton, General Manager Smart Grid Implementation Strategy and Planning, Duke Energy

• Vikas Dwivedi, Principal, Quantum Energy Partners

• Arthur Kressner, Director of Research and Development, Consolidated Edison Company of New York

• Dr. Ali Nourai, Manager Distributed Energy Resources, AEP

• Alec Brooks, Renewable Energy Engineer, Google

• Larry Kuhl, P.E., Worldwide Utilities Business Development & Alliance Manager, Microsoft

• Henry O. Marcy, Vice President, Technology, Whirlpool

KEMA's first Annual Utility of the Future Conference, “Getting there from here,” gathered senior industry executives and utility and energy industry innovators who explored how to get to the Utility of the Future. Now that a path forward is in sight, the second annual conference delves into navigating the technology and infrastructure, strategies and policies along the way to a sustainable energy future.  

Discussions will focus on a range of timely, interrelated topics, including: 

• Regulatory and policy directions and impacts

• Operating a Smart Grid infrastructure

• Financial outlook

• Generation and carbon control

• Impacts of carbon policy

• Developments in energy storage

• Plug-in electric hybrid vehicles (PHEVs)

• Focus on the customer: implications for utility products and customers

An extra two-hour, pre-conference seminar introduces the fundamentals of the “Utility of the Future” to senior technology, generation, operations and regulatory executives and others interested in learning more. The seminar is designed specifically for those who want a better understanding of the utility of the future concept and of the potential changes utilities and industry stakeholders will seek in response. Participants receive a complimentary copy of KEMA’s strategic planning guide, Utility of the Future: Directions for enhancing sustainability, reliability and profitability (Vol. 1).  

Senior executives are invited to join their peers in the Utility of the Future discussion to share ideas and discover opportunities to shape a more sustainable, reliable, profitable utility of the future.

About KEMA
Founded in 1927, KEMA (www.kema.com) is a global provider of business and technical consulting, operational support, measurement and inspection, testing and certification for the energy and utility industry. KEMA employs 1,600 professionals in 20 countries. The firm’s North American consulting operations are headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts. KEMA’s global headquarters are in Arnhem, the Netherlands.