the soft grid 2013

Check-in desk located in the PG&E Auditorium Foyer. Continental Breakfast provided.

From grid infrastructure analytics to consumer analytics, the true power of data is starting to be realized. Greentech Media Co-Founder and President, Rick Thompson, sets the stage for the days presentations and panels.

Alourdes Sully, a senior technical specialist with Hydro One Networks, will present from the unique position as Chair of the Utilities Telecom Council Canada. Ms. Sully will present a combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis on the state of grid operations analytics across Canada's top utilities, including Hydro One, BC Hydro, Hydro Quebec, Fortis, Toronto Hydro, NB Power, SaskPower, ENMAX and more. Ms. Sully will share findings related to where these utilities are in terms of data/analytics planning and deployment and walk through various utility use cases throughout Canada.

Hear from three different North America electric utilities as they each present 20 minute case studies of real-world soft grid applications that they have implemented or are in the process of implementing, in addition to their thoughts on the future of analytics as it applies to their longer-term plans for grid modernization. Engage with these utility leaders through audience Q&A.

Moderator: Rick Thompson, President and Co-Founder, Greentech Media

Where does the biggest value lever reside for utility analytics applications - asset optimization, operational effectiveness, customer engagement, distributed resources? This session will look to define the most lucrative ROI opportunities for big data, analytics and cloud-based infrastructure/services as applied to current and future distribution grid investments. How is the market evolving? Is 'analytics' its own area, or will it simply evolve into a tool within the other systems a utility already purchases? How do you sell analytics solutions to a utility - which departments have responsibility for managing data?

Moderator: Ben Kellison, Analyst, Smart Grid, GTM Research

Hear from experts throughout the industry supply chain on a number of soft grid, analytics and cloud-based themes, including consumer analytics, grid infrastructure analytics, the use of cloud-based infrastructure for smart grid services, network-based analytics, big data storage and processing, MDM and other topics. Each speaker will have 30 minutes to present and answer questions from the audience.

Moderator: Rick Thompson, President and Co-Founder, Greentech Media

The data being provided by smart meters and managed AMI networks represents one of just many new inputs in the continuously evolving data driven utility environment. Nevertheless, leveraging these new sources of information, given the growth of grid communications networks, for applications that extend beyond the meter-to-cash process is a critical analytics starting point for many utilities. Members of this panel will discuss how utilities are unlocking new benefits from a growing number of AMI grid networking deployments.

Moderator: Zach Pollock, Analyst, Smart Grid, GTM Research

Join us after the first day of the conference for Greentech Media's second annual Soft Grid party.