Smart Grid Conference a Smash Hit!
Posted on October 26, 2011 by Andrea Crosby
Tags, Emerging Technologies, Public Involvement and Coalitions, Utility Regulation
On Friday, October 21st, CUB Policy Center, with the support of the University of Oregon. and many others, hosted its inaugural policy conference: Smart Grid: Today’s Regulation and Tomorrow’s Technology.The university’s high efficiency White Stag Block in downtown Portland was jam packed with energy lawyers, utility professionals, smart grid advocates, regulators, and others all energized to discuss smart grid opportunities, barriers, and polices for the Pacific Northwest.
Susan Ackerman, Commissioner - Oregon Public Utility Commission, delivered a stirring breakfast keynote adroitly setting the stage for the rest of the day. Bob Jenks, Executive Director of CUB, followed Commissioner Ackerman to the podium and delivered a thoughtful presentation on utility regulation in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest and gave specific examples of how Smart Grid, if done properly, can change the way individuals, homes and businesses interact with the electrical grid, and use and store energy. Bob emphasized that Smart Grid technologies can be incorporated without making radical changes to Oregon’s energy laws and regulations. Most importantly, Bob noted that CUB is a supporter of the move towards a Smarter Grid. CUB just wants to make sure that any changes make the electrical grid better for all consumers and that no consumers get left behind – the Smart Grid needs to be implemented in a fair and reasonable manner resulting in fair and reasonable rates for consumers.
Bob’s presentation was followed by a panel discussion that provided the audience with many and varied views on regulation and Smart Grid and kept the audience actively engaged; many great questions came from the audience Q and A.
Following a short break everyone enjoyed a delicious lunch provided by Eat Your Heart Out catering during which we listened to a spirited lunch keynote address by former FERC Commissioner and founder of ESPY Solutions, Nora Brownwell. Nora’s presentation, which was both funny and challenging, informed the conversation by providing conference attendees with a national regulatory and business applications perspective.
With hungers sated and brains powered, participants attended the afternoon breakout sessions: Electric Vehicles, Business Applications and Opportunities, Home Energy Management and Making Renewable Resources Work. Each of the panelists and moderators for these sessions were truly superb and all of the panels were extremely well attended. The audiences, again fully engaged, peppered the panelists with insightful questions!
The conference program ended with a closing panel that summarized the lessons learned from the conference and discussed how those lessons might be applied going forward. One of the major conclusions agreed on by panelists was that a unified vision for Smart Grid needs to be developed for the Pacific Northwest that considers all perspectives, opportunities and challenges. The day concluded with a very welcome reception and a special appearance by the current Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Jon Wellinghoff.
This conference would not have been possible without the very generous support of our sponsors, and the time and dedication of our panelists and speakers. CUB is very grateful to everyone for their support of CUB’s inaugural conference and looks forward to continuing the Smart Grid discussion.
Special thanks to Ninkasi Brewing Co and Mountain Peoples Organic Wine and Beer Distribution for supporting the networking and mingling skills of our staff, attendees, panelists and sponsors.
CUB is truly thrilled with the level of engagement and the thoughtful conversations generated by the conference. It is a wonderful day when we can say that the conference fulfilled its mission – active informed discussion, by a wide variety of stakeholders, of the important topics surrounding the implementation of the Smart Grid!
Please click here for a complete agenda including topics, speakers and sponsors.
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03/27/17 | 1 Comment | Smart Grid Conference a Smash Hit!