The Finepoint Circuit Breaker Test & Maintenance Training Conference exudes a casual, "down-home," hospitable atmosphere the entire week for everyone attending, according to Bill Myers, conference host and president of Finepoint.

Myers initiated the annual Circuit Breaker Test & Maintenance Conference in 1994 as the electric power industry's premier event for substation/switchgear maintenance people. Participants receive practical training from users' perspectives, learn factory-authorized test and maintenance procedures, network with their peers, and view cutting-edge products at 90 suppliers' exhibits each evening. The conference also features a Factory Tour each year, and HVB AE Power Systems will be hosting the tour for the first time since 2004.

Myers spends the entire year making the conference the best that it can be. “This conference is my life,” he said. He founded Finepoint in 1986 in Kenwood, California, and initiated the annual Circuit Breaker Test & Maintenance Training Conference eight years later, attracting electric utilities from around the world.

More than 626 delegates attended the 2008 conference, representing 216 companies, 47 states, and 11 countries. The conference provides attendees, speakers, and exhibitors with a high-quality, low key opportunity to exchange information with their peers and learn from the experts.

The majority of the topics are presented by the electric utility participants themselves instead of suppliers and/or consultants. Finepoint does not sell any products or services to the industry, which ensures an unbiased and well-rounded program.

The scheduled training presentations are focused, with most conference topics concentrating on low-, medium-, and high-voltage circuit breakers. However, related substation and switchgear topics such as power transformer maintenance, oil testing and filtration, SF6 gas handling, safe work practices, and asset management issues are also covered.