Energy execs pack KEMA Utility Future 2010 agenda exploring new utility leadership paradigm

Open dialog on strategies, directions in balancing customer demands, technology, environment for the sustainable energy future

BURLINGTON, Mass.(June 10, 2010) – Balancing customer and environmental demands and existing and emerging technologies to create a sustainable energy future requires bold, confident leadership to navigate the challenges of change. C-level energy and utility industry leaders are gathering at the 2010 KEMA Utility of the Future Leadership Forum to discuss the new directions needed in leadership and strategy to manage competing demands and to inform, engage and empower the energy consumer. 

KEMA’s third annual Utility of the Future Leadership Forum, “Strategic Choices – Striking Equilibrium,” is being held June 23 – 25, 2010 at The Four Seasons, Washington, DC. CATO Senior Fellow Jerry Taylor will be offering the leadership dinner special address, providing perspectives on how we balance competing consumer and environmental demands on the energy future.

"Economists argue that the negative environmental externalities associated with energy consumption should be internalized into energy prices via a direct or indirect tax on energy,” said Taylor. “After that, regulators should step back and allow market actors to decide how to most efficiently respond to these more accurate price signals. Unfortunately, quantifying environmental externalities is difficult given continuing scientific and economic uncertainties and the public has little appetite for higher energy prices."

The Utility of the Future 2010 Forum will feature open-panel discussions on customer engagement, investment strategy, regulatory policy, the state of carbon and environmental issues, and explore what a sustainable, intelligent infrastructure will look like. The agenda also includes a pre-forum session on engaging customers and avoiding customer backlash in utility smart grid strategies and deployments. Throughout the forum, there will be high-level networking opportunities to share perspectives, collaborate, and engage in dialog.

Confirmed speakers and panelists at KEMA’s Utility of the Future 2010 forum include:

  • Phillip Barnett, CFO, PECO

  • Terry Boston, President CEO, PJM Interconnection

  • Hon. Garry Brown, Chairman, New York Public Service Commission

  • Michael Burr, Editor-in-Chief, Public Utilities Fortnightly

  • Bill Capp, President and CEO, Beacon Power

  • Robert Catell, Chairman, AERTC and Chairman, NYS Smart Grid Consortium, and former Chairman,National Grid US

  • Hon. David Coen, Commissioner, Vermont Public Service Board, and President, NARUC

  • Scott DePasquale, Partner, Braemer Energy Ventures

  • Trip Doggett, CEO, ERCOT

  • Mike Edmonds, Global Smart Grid Strategies Director, S&C Electric Company

  • Steve Hirsch, Manager, Demand Response Programs, Consumers Energy

  • Michael Hogan, Program Director for Power, European Climate Foundation

  • Lisa Johnson, Executive Vice President, Power Supply, ODEC

  • Hon. David Lott Hardy, Chairman, Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission

  • Hon. Joseph T. Kelliher, Executive Vice President, Federal Regulatory Affairs, NextEra Energy, Inc. andformer Chairman, FERC

  • Ben Koch, Managing Partner, Southwest Securities, Inc.

  • William Lee, Vice President, Sun Edison

  • John McDonald, Director, Technical Strategy and Policy Development, GE Digital Energy

  • Hon. Philip Moeller, Commissioner, FERC

  • Michael Morris, Chairman, President and CEO, AEP

  • Michael Mudd, CEO, FutureGen

  • Hon. David O'Brien, Commissioner, Vermont Department of Public Service

  • John Passacantando, President, Our Next Economy, LLC

  • Curt Puckett, Senior Vice President, KEMA

  • Dan Reicher, Director, Energy and Climate Change Initiatives, Google

  • Jim Rogers, CEO, Duke Energy

  • Hon. Alan Schriber, Chairman, Public Utilities Commission of Ohio

  • David Selsky, Vice President, Direct Energy

  • Ivo Steklac, EVP, Sales and Strategy, Tendril

  • Kevin Sullivan, Senior Vice President, KEMA

  • Jerry Taylor, Senior Fellow, Cato Institute

  • Hugo van Nispen, President and Managing Director, KEMA

  • David Wade, Executive Vice President and COO, Chattanooga Electric Power Board

  • Rob Wilhite, Senior Vice President, KEMA

  • Audrey Zibelman, President and CEO, Viridity Energy, Inc.  

Senior executives are invited to join their peers in the Utility of the Future discussion to share ideas and discover opportunities to shape a more sustainable, reliable, profitable utility of the future. To register, and for more information, visit: www.kema.com/UtilityFuture2010. 

Designed in concert with an advisory panel of insightful, forward-thinking senior industry executives, KEMA’s Utility of the Future leadership series provides a view from the top on critical issues facing energy and utility industry and stakeholders and offers opportunities for leaders to connect with their peers as they seek to build for the future. For insights gained from the previous years’ Utility of the Future leadership series, visit www.kema.com/UtilityFutureSeries.  

About KEMA
Founded in 1927, KEMA is a global provider of business and technical consulting, operational support, measurement and inspection, testing and certification for the energy and utility industry. With world headquarters in Arnhem, the Netherlands, KEMA employs more than 1,600 professionals globally with offices and representatives in more than 20 countries. KEMA’s US subsidiary, KEMA, Inc., is headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts and serves energy clients throughout the Americas and Caribbean.

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