The president of the GridWise Alliance will be a featured speaker at the KEMA second annual Utility of the Future executive conference June 17-19, 2009 in Washington DC.

Alliance president Katherine Hamilton, who has been at the forefront of smart grid policy debates in Washington, will offer the Alliance’s perspectives on key national energy legislation, how it affects the development of the smart grid, and what needs to be done with the funding provided by the White House and Congress.

The GridWise Alliance is a public–private forum of diverse industry stakeholders and resources to deploy, demonstrate and quantify new technologies, approaches, and business models for the nation’s electric grid.

In Hamilton’s view, “Just as it did with the interstate highway system, government – federal and state -- must play central roles in the deployment of the smart grid. At the same time we in the industry must provide the discoveries, technology, innovation, and design to make the smart grid an everyday reality for millions of consumers and businesses across the nation. At the GridWise Alliance, we are pleased that the Obama Administration and Congress are approving policies, regulations and standards that are bringing us closer to our mutually shared goals.”

The KEMA Utility of the Future executive conference, “Navigating sustainability,” is gathering senior executives from across the energy and utility industry to discuss the changing rules and relationships underlying the transformation of the energy future. Discussions will cover regulatory and policy directions and impacts, operating a smart grid infrastructure, developments in generation, energy storage and plug-in electric vehicles, and implications for utility products and customers.