Smart Grid
Smart Grid to Headline CRN Summit
This summer, NRECA’s Cooperative Research Network is devoting its annual summit to one very big—and very important—subject: smart grid.
New Orleans will host the CRN Smart Grid Summit. (Photo By: NewOrleansOnline.com)
“There’s so much discussion about that generic topic, ‘smart grid,’ that we need to focus in on the unique individual components,” said Jim Duncan, CEO and general manager of Sumter Electric Cooperative, Sumterville, Fla. “I think the agenda for this particular summit is outstanding in that regard.”
And that’s why Duncan, who is also chairman of the Cooperative Research Council, will be in New Orleans for the CRN Smart Grid Summit. The meeting will be held June 29-30 at the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel.
The program includes three general sessions. One will focus on the right ways and wrong ways of launching the smart grid. Participants will hear from an official of the California Public Utilities Commission. The Golden State has seen electric utility customers resistant to some new technologies.
Five concurrent sessions will also be part of this year’s summit. The June 29 sessions are broken into three topics: efficiency, sustainability and affordability. The following day’s sessions are opportunities to “ask the experts.”
“While ‘smart grid’ has become the latest buzzword, no one can argue with the need to do more, know more, and to get more from the electric system,” said Ed Torrero, CRN executive director. “This summit gets behind the buzz to quickly help participants get the latest cost-effective ways to increase efficiency at their co-ops. On hand will be co-ops with hands-on experience using technologies that improve reliability and help maintain affordability.”
Dan Brewer, president and CEO of Blue Grass Energy, Nicholasville, Ky., said summit participants will hear about “a variety of things that are currently being talked about, debated, discussed and analyzed in the industry.” That includes information on meter data management, which, Brewer said, “is probably the hottest topic right now.”
For more information and registration, visit the CRN Smart Grid Summit page on cooperative.com.