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This year’s sponsors of GridWeek, the annual gathering in Washington, DC, of Smart Grid stakeholders, include NEMA and many of its member companies. ABB, Areva, Cooper Power Systems, S & C Electric Company, and Siemens Power Transmission & Distribution, Inc. are among those behind the four-day gathering of thought leaders from around the world to address the future of the Smart Grid.

Often defined as using communications and modern computer technology to upgrade the current electric power grid so that it can operate more efficiently and reliably and support additional services to consumers, Smart Grid is an emerging realization that a new view of energy will result in decentralized components of the electricity grid. It will move beyond oil, coal, and other fossil-based fuels, as well as the structured system of the past.

GridWeek provides the opportunity for organizations focused on Smart Grid to hold meetings and participate in collaborative sessions, including leading speakers on the Smart Grid revolution. The conference is being held September 22-25 at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, DC.

Highlights of the conference include an opening plenary session with noted Jeremy Rifkin, author and president of The Foundation on Economic Trends; a keynote address by U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman; and Pulitzer Prize winning author Thomas Friedman.

"The future of the Smart Grid is of vital importance to the U.S. because it affects the way of life that Americans have come to enjoy and expect," said Wes Sylvester, Siemens Power Transmission & Distribution, Inc., director of distribution solutions. "Siemens is among the first engineering innovators in the world, and we have taken a leadership role in developing the technology strategy necessary to make the Smart Grid dream a reality."

To learn more about GridWeek, visit http://www.gridweek.com/2008/