Itron, Inc. has announced the conference schedule for its customer-focused event, Itron Inspire 2022, which will be held in Marco Island, Florida, Sept. 23-30, 2022. The in-person conference will bring together leaders from across energy, water, industrial IoT (IIoT) and smart communities to uncover the possibilities for a more connected, sustainable future. Select content will also be streamed online.
“We couldn’t be more excited to reconnect in person with our colleagues, customers and partners at Itron Inspire for the first time in three years,” said Marina Donovan, vice president, global marketing and public affairs at Itron. “We look forward to engaging in discussions with the industry’s leaders about both the challenges and opportunities presented by accelerating distributed energy resource (DER) proliferation, worsening extreme and devastating weather, increasing cybersecurity threats and more.”
The main event, the Knowledge Conference, takes place Sept. 25-27 and includes a variety of keynotes, thought leadership panels, more than 90 breakout sessions with the majority being customer speakers and several networking events as well as a showcase of Itron’s comprehensive solutions and partner offerings in the Knowledge Center. While there, attendees are invited to tour the Itron Experience and see how solutions come together to deliver value-based outcomes for utilities and smart cities across the globe.
Keynotes & General Sessions:
Opening General Session: Brian Bentz, president and CEO of Alectra, and Tom Deitrich, president and CEO of Itron, will kick things off with an opening keynote on the ongoing transformation of our industry. Attendees will also hear from Marina Donovan, Itron vice president, global marketing and public affairs, to present the findings of this year’s resourcefulness report. The winners of the annual Frost & Sullivan Excellence in Resourcefulness Awards will also be unveiled.
Women in Utilities: On Monday afternoon, the Women in Utilities session will celebrate the women at the forefront of the energy industry who are driving transformation, creating lasting change and showcasing the power of community. Attendees can look forward to hearing from Kimberly Britton, CEO of EPIcenter; Andrea Nuesser, Director of Customer Strategy & Experience, Hydro One; Natalie Hammer, Senior Manager AMI Strategy and Data Analytics, ComEd, and Michelle Kolp, Director AMI Operations with Peoples Gas, during this engaging discussion. Both men and women are encouraged to attend this dynamic presentation.
Tuesday General Session: Kicking off Tuesday morning general sessions, Tom Koulopoulos, futurist, author as well as chairman and founder of the Delphi Group will take the stage. Tom will address how intelligent data-driven digital ecosystems are creating a more frictionless economy, accelerating innovation and driving globalization, ultimately improving customer experience and operations. The winner of the annual Itron Innovator Award will also be announced.
Big Picture Sessions:
Unlocking Intelligence to Accelerate Modernization: Addressing utility challenges all comes down to data, which may prove to be every organization’s most valuable asset. During this panel, industry leaders from Tampa Electric, Dominion Energy and Microsoft will discuss how to harness the full value of data to transform the way utilities deliver energy and water to customers and improve quality of life for residents.
Preparing for Cyber Threats in a Digital World: With security concerns escalating on a global scale, what can utilities do to prepare? During this session, cybersecurity experts from the FBI and the National Institute of Standards and Technology will discuss the latest best practices relating to cybersecurity and data protection issues and provide practical steps that utility and city leaders can take to ensure that data is safe and secure.
Breakout Sessions: Breakout sessions will take place each day of the conference following the general session in the following tracks:
Advanced Applications and Outcomes: Sessions in this track address decarbonization and ESG strategies, streetlight deployment, water operations management, AMI benefits and use cases, cybersecurity, distributed intelligence, demand response, renewable integration and outcome-based services and solutions for utilities, cities and third-party providers across the globe.
Data Management: In this track, utilities will share insights and experiences about data streaming and management capabilities, DER integration planning, interval-based billing, disaster recovery and more.
Mobile and Measurement Solutions: This track goes into depth about how Itron Mobile-based solutions offer flexibility for seamless migration to a next-generation network or hybrid deployment to help achieve your business goals and optimize operations.
Multi-Purpose Network Solutions: In this track, learn about Itron's approach to help you navigate intelligently connected IIoT platforms and solutions designed from the ground up to support a broad range of outcomes that can be customized to your business goals.
For more information about Itron Inspire 2022 and registration for the in-person event or livestream sessions, please visit www.itron.com/inspire.