CUB Conference 2019: Clean Energy Communities / Reliable Systems
Posted on April 25, 2019 by Amelia Lamb
Tags, Conference & Events
The 9th annual CUB Policy Conference is slated for Friday, November 8 (mark your calendars!) and today we are pleased to announce this year’s conference theme: Clean Energy Communities / Reliable Systems.
What is a utility to do? Disparate stakeholders want today’s utilities to accomplish many things: phase out coal, become 100 percent clean, give customers and communities more choices, make long-term investments, and much more. At the same time, utilities must retain enough capacity to ensure that lights turn on and customers are comfortable on the coldest and warmest days. It is clear that creating clean energy communities in Oregon requires us to resolve conflicting energy policy options.
One factor in meeting this challenge is addressing definitional differences. What do the following terms mean and to whom: Choice? Clean Energy? Community? Resiliency? Reliability? Additionally, what is the role of market mechanisms in driving major utility decarbonization investments? What regulatory improvements would facilitate new customer-utility interactions for strategic use of distributed resources and other new technologies? What information technology and broadband policies are needed to ensure that the future energy system works with privacy and security safeguards? And how can we ensure that all Oregonians have the information and resources to affordably and meaningfully participate in Oregon’s future energy system?
Join us at the Downtown Portland Hilton on November 8 as we discuss these and other vital questions facing today’s utility sector and stakeholders. CUB will once again feature the opening panel The View From the Top: A Conversation with NW Utility Executives. Executives confirmed to participate in this panel include Larry Bekkedahl, Vice President Grid Architecture, Integration & System Operations – Portland General Electric; Stefan Bird, President and CEO – Pacific Power; Kim Heiting, Senior Vice President of Operations and Chief Marketing Officer, NW Natural; and Dennis Vermillion, President – Avista Corporation.
The rest of the day’s agenda will feature a series of six breakout panels, each of which will be previewed right here on the CUB Blog throughout the summer and early fall. CUB will also present the fourth annual Consumer Champion Award, which honors individuals and organizations who, through their industry leadership, policy innovations, and public service have contributed in a substantial way to the well-being of Oregon’s residential utility ratepayers. Past honorees include Margie Harris, founding director of the Energy Trust of Oregon (2016), Senator Lee Beyer, former PUC Chair (2017), and Jackson County Fuel Committee (2018). Stay tuned for announcements of the 2019 honoree as well as our keynote speaker!
This CUB Policy Conference is specifically designed to educate analysts, attorneys, advocates, regulators, utility executives, and others working in and around the energy industry. All past CUB Conferences have offered Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits from the OR and WA Bars, and we anticipate renewed accreditation for 2019.
CUB is pleased and grateful to welcome back our Media Sponsor, Energy NewsData’s Clearing Up. Fiscal sponsorship opportunities are available at a variety of levels. To learn more about CUB Conference sponsorship packages, contact Deputy Director Janice Thompson at (503)227-1984 x24, or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Follow CUB Policy Conference news right here on the CUB Blog, sign up for the CUB Policy Conference email list, and follow along (and join the conversation!) on Twitter at #CUBCon19.
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07/19/19 | 0 Comments | CUB Conference 2019: Clean Energy Communities / Reliable Systems