On July 13-14, a National Town Meeting on Demand Response and Smart Grid will be held in Washington, DC. The event is being organized by the Demand Response Coordinating Committee (DRCC), a non-profit organization dedicated to facilitating the exchange of information and expertise about demand response and smart grid technologies and programs, and how they can be put into action to provide customers and utilities with new options for managing electricity. It is being co-sponsored by, among others, the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) and the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO).

The event will be held at the Mayflower Hotel and will feature a number of top speakers from federal and state governments, utilities, technology companies, and various stakeholder organizations. Among the speakers will be:

• Jon Wellinghoff, Chairman, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
• Rick Sergel, CEO, North American Electricity Reliability Corporation (NERC)
• Garry Brown, Chairman, New York State Public Utility Commission (NYSPSC) 
• Dan Reicher, Director of Climate Change and Energy Policy, Google 
• Stephen Johnston, CEO, SmartSynch 
• Frank Ramirez, CEO, Ice Energy 
• George Arnold, Director of Interoperability, NIST 
• John Jimison, Senior Counsel, House Energy and Commerce Committee.

The Town Meeting will focus on a number of areas of demand response and smart grid that are currently under discussion in multiple arenas:

• Interoperability 
• DR Potential Assessment 
• Cybersecurity 
• Stimulus Funding for Smart Grid 
• The "Prius Effect" 
• Taking the Smart Grid into the Home and Business 
• Measurement and Verification 
• Smart Grid and Energy Star 
• DR as a Competitive Resource.

One particular focal point for the Town Meeting will be the current effort by FERC, based on Congressional direction, to develop a National Action Plan on Demand Response. Attendees will hear key FERC personnel and other demand response experts discuss what the plan should contain and what its objectives will be. Attendees will act as Town Meeting delegates and will be able to provide their input on the Plan by voting electronically on specific questions.