Town Meeting VI
The date for the next National Town Meeting on Demand Response has been set! And this widely-acclaimed event also will address the Smart Grid!
The Annual National Town Meeting on Demand Response and Smart Grid will be held in Washington, DC,on Monday and Tuesday, July 13 & 14, 2009.
The event will include, as in the past, a number of "roundtable" discussions with top policy officials, utility and technology executives, and Demand Response experts. There also will be a full day---with two concurrent tracks---of in-depth presentations on the latest Demand Response and Smart Grid topics and issues.
A key focus of the Town Meeting will be Developments in Washington. The event will offer a review of the first-ever National Demand Response Potential Assessment set to be released by FERC just prior to the Town Meeting. We also will be having dialogues about FERC's current efforts to develop the nation's first National Action Plan for Demand Response. This will be a chance for you not only to learn about the Plan but also to contribute your thoughts and ideas to it. Turning to Capitol Hill, Smart Grid legislation has already been introduced, and by the time of the Town Meeting there will have been action in both the House and Senate on Smart Grid policy. Finally, the Stimulus Bill recently passed by Congress contained substantial sums aimed at helping the Smart Grid get traction, and at the Town Meeting we will be looking at and talking about the Smart Grid grant programs at DOE.
If you can make only one Demand Response and Smart Grid conference this year---this is the one to shoot for.
This event will be the sixth National Town Meeting, and it promises to be the biggest and best yet. As always, the National Town Meeting will be a forum where all interested parties can gather to share experiences and ideas on Demand Response and the Smart Grid and to discuss the current and potential role of Demand Response in the electricity industry.
Among the questions to be addressed this year will be the following:
- The Smart Grid Grants funded by the Stimulus Bill---how are they working? What is being funded?
- A new Energy Bill--- and a Climate Change Bill--- how are things shaping up on Capitol Hill?
- The Demand Response and Smart Grid provisions of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007---what impact have they had?
- The Congressionally mandated National Action Plan on Demand Response---what has FERC done to date and where is it headed?
- Open Standards, Interoperability and the Smart Grid---can we all get on the same page?
- Cybersecurity---is the Smart Grid being held to a higher standard? Should it be?
- Distributed Storage---is this a game-changer?
- New Transmission to enable more Renewable Energy---a greener grid but not necessarily a smarter grid?
- Peak Reduction Standards---are Maryland, Pennsylvania and Ohio the shape of things to come?
- Home Area Networks and smart technologies in the home---where does the Smart Grid end these days?
- Getting information to customers that they never have had before---will the "Prius Effect" finally make energy efficiency institutionalized and sustainable?
- An overview of state legislation and regulatory action on Demand Response and the Smart Grid---what have the states been up to?
- Myths and Misconceptions of Demand Response---which have faded and what new ones have appeared?
- Smart Grid---do we need a definition or do we all "get it" at this point?
- What new research is there on customer acceptance, program design and evaluation, and other important areas?
- What "best practices" are evolving in Demand Response program delivery?
- Barriers---which have been overcome? What new ones have been identified?
- What is the view from Wall Street? Will Demand Response continue to be hot?
- How are Demand Response, energy efficiency, and renewable energy starting to converge?
- Measurement and verification for Demand Response---will Smart Grid technologies also lead to knowing more about energy efficiency impacts?
More details on the upcoming Sixth National Town Meeting will be available soon. If you would like to learn more, please join our mailing list:
The United States Demand Response Coordinating Committee (DRCC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization formed in 2004 to undertake activities aimed at increasing the knowledge base in the U.S. on demand response and facilitating the exchange of information and expertise among demand response practitioners. More information is available at www.demandresponsecommittee.org. Its members are:
Ameren * American Electric Power (AEP) * Arizona Public Service *
Commonwealth Edison * DTE Energy * ISO New England * Landis+GYR *
MeterSmart * MidAmerican Energy * Midwest ISO * National Grid * NYSERDA *
Pacific Gas & Electric * PJM Interconnection * Progress Energy *
Salt River Project * San Diego Gas & Electric * Southern California Edison *
Southern Company * Tennessee Valley Authority * Wal-Mart * Xcel Energy *
Original source: 2009 website capture. Publication history.