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NEMA Takes the Stage at the GridWise® Global Forum


10/11/2011 8:31 AM

By Richard O’Neill

On November 8, the second annual GridWise® Global Forum kicks off at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C. Billed as an "unrivaled international gathering of policy and corporate leaders, technology innovators, legislators, regulators, consumer and environmental advocates," the forum will convene to examine the policy elements necessary to deliver on the promise of a Smart Grid.

Featured on the agenda are a number of NEMA members, including:

  • Beth Comstock, Chief Marketing Officer & SVP, General Electric

  • Thierry Godart, Vice President and General Manager of Energy Automation and Smart Grid Applications, Siemens Energy

  • Philip Mezey, President and COO, Itron, Inc.

  • Gregoire Poux-Guillaume, CEO, Alstom Grid

  • Gary Rackliffe, Vice President of Smart Grids in North America, ABB, Inc.

    • Sessions featured during the forum will cover: Energy Industry in Transition: Models for Success; Lessons Learned: What the ARRA Data Tells Us; Guarding the Grid: Smart Grid and Grid Vulnerability; and, and Smart Grid Data: Insights, Privacy, or Both?

    The electricity that powers everything from a single appliance to our vast, intricate national defense system is such an integral part of our daily lives that we rarely think about where it’s generated or how it’s delivered. Today, generation occurs at large, central fossil fuel plants, hydroelectric dams, and nuclear facilities. It then travels many hundreds of miles along an enormous, transmission and distribution lines throughout the nation—called simply the grid. Tomorrow, we’ll need an even more complex and sophisticated infrastructure that will continue to power our digital economy but in a cleaner, more reliable, and more affordable way—a Smart Grid.

    To unlock the potential of a smart grid, we can choose from a multitude of hardware, software, and telecommunications tools. These technologies range from complex sensors that yield new and unique data and are woven into all aspects of the grid, to elegant user interfaces that give operators and consumers alike simple tools for making better decisions.

    Specifically, a Smart Grid will:

    • give consumers the power to manage their own electricity use,

  • reduce peak demand by actively managing consumer demand,

  • balance consumer reliability and power quality needs,

  • mine energy efficiency opportunities proactively,

  • improve overall operational efficiency, and

  • seamlessly integrate all clean energy technologies.

    • By smoothly engaging consumers and purposefully empowering utilities, a Smart Grid clearly holds the key to a healthy economy, a clean environment, and a prosperous future. Details about the forum and registration information are available.

    Richard O’Neill is a Program Coordinator for the Gridwise Alliance whose duties include managing communications and marketing activities. He resides in Washington D.C., and is an adamant fan of the Washington Capitals.

     

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