GridWise Alliance president a featured speaker at KEMA Utility of the Future executive conference
Katherine Hamilton to provide insight into national energy policy and the smart grid
BURLINGTON, Mass. (May 5, 2009) – The president of the GridWise Alliance (www.gridwise.org) will be a featured speaker at the KEMA second annual Utility of the Future executive conference June 17-19, 2009 in Washington DC.
Alliance president Katherine Hamilton, who has been at the forefront of smart grid policy debates in Washington, will offer the Alliance’s perspectives on key national energy legislation, how it affects the development of the smart grid, and what needs to be done with the funding provided by the White House and Congress.
The GridWise Alliance is a public–private forum of diverse industry stakeholders and resources to deploy, demonstrate and quantify new technologies, approaches, and business models for the nation’s electric grid.
In Hamilton’s view, “Just as it did with the interstate highway system, government – federal and state -- must play central roles in the deployment of the smart grid. At the same time we in the industry must provide the discoveries, technology, innovation, and design to make the smart grid an everyday reality for millions of consumers and businesses across the nation. At the GridWise Alliance, we are pleased that the Obama Administration and Congress are approving policies, regulations and standards that are bringing us closer to our mutually shared goals.”
The KEMA Utility of the Future executive conference, “Navigating sustainability,” is gathering senior executives from across the energy and utility industry to discuss the changing rules and relationships underlying the transformation of the energy future. Discussions will cover regulatory and policy directions and impacts, operating a smart grid infrastructure, developments ingeneration, energy storage and plug-in electric vehicles, and implications for utility products and customers.
About the GridWise Alliance
The GridWise Alliance was founded in 2003. The GridWise Alliance advocates a vision of an electric system that integrates the infrastructure, processes, devices, information and market structure so that energy can be generated, distributed, and consumed more efficiently and cost effectively; thereby achieving a more resilient, secure and reliable energy system. Over the past four years the Alliance has advocated for change on both the national and state levels. Its members include utilities, IT companies, equipment vendors, new technology providers and educational institutions.
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.