Duke Energy, Con-Ed, Alabama Power, Northeast Utilities, others to gather in Raleigh, North Carolina, Nov. 2-3, to discuss latest developments in smart grid distribution automation

Graziela Medina Shepnick

HOBOKEN, New Jersey , October 25, 2011 (press release) – On November 2-3 2011, leading utilities will gather in Raleigh, NC, to discuss the latest developments in smart grid distribution automation.

The growth in distribution automation projects is nothing short of astonishing. The reason? Optimizing distribution promises utilities of all sizes and markets a significant positive return on their smart grid investments, with real gains already being realized across a wide range of implementations.

Pike Research forecasts that distribution automation spending will total $46 billion worldwide by 2015 and that the returns from the sale of sensors alone will reach $6.3 billion by 2014. Clearly the opportunities are enormous. However, the big unknown right now is which projects will ultimately be the most successful, and reap the greatest ROI for both utilities and technology providers.

“Distribution automation is the next big focus area for smart grid deployments” says Bob Gohn, conference Chairman and Research Director for Pike Research. “It will have a significant impact on reliability and efficiency moving forward and the marketplace is ripe with opportunity.”

As with all Smart Grid Update events, the agenda for the Conference is industry led, with leading utilities sharing their findings on a whole range of distribution automation initiatives. There will be a focus practical advice and business opportunities, including case studies from the most successful distribution automation projects currently being rolled out.

* Northeast Utilities will be outlining how their self-healing technologies are enabling fault location and energy restoration.
* Duke Energy will be giving an overview of their wide-ranging communication integration architecture.
* Alabama Power will demonstrate the benefits realized by their integrated distribution management system.
* Con-Ed will present the findings of their recent SCADA projects to optimize the display of data for human interpretation.

Other experts from PPL, Dominion Virginia, GE Energy, the Department of Homeland Security and the DOE, Ambient, Elster Solutions, SAS, ABB and Sensus will also be sharing their insights over two days designed to cover all the essential areas of smart grid distribution automation. Mackay Communications, paired with Inmarsat and Hughes, as well as Bridge Energy Group will be exhibiting their solutions and expertise.

“There’s no doubt that improved communication, better knowledge sharing and stronger partnerships between key stakeholders will provide a big step forward towards creating many more successful and profitable distribution automation initiatives. Which is why we at Smart Grid Update have put together our first ever conference focusing specifically on this pivotal area of smart grid development.” said Baruch Hecht, Director, Smart Grid Update.

The Smart Grid Distribution Automation Conference expects to gather over 100 senior executives from utilities, technology and telecom companies, associations and regulatory commissions and the government to discuss key objectives and plans for 2012 and beyond.

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