DistribuTECH's Right Around the Corner

Running March 23-25, 2010 at the Tampa Convention Center, DistribuTECH covers the smart grid from end to end. As I write this, my schedule for the three-day event is almost full. Thank goodness I finally had the good sense to block off some time for lunches, or exhibitors may find me stealing all their good candy---candy they usually like to sit out for potential clients. But, what's a starving editor to do?

Celebrating 20 years, DistribuTECH knew the grid before it was smart, and it continues to lead the way in information exchange and utility education. I'm rather proud of the "We knew the grid before it was smart" angle, since that was my tagline idea. Beyond the awesome tagline though, from instructional Utility University courses to experts delivering the latest industry details, DistribuTECH is bringing a lot of experience to Florida in March.

DistribuTECH 2010 will officially kick off with an opening keynote session on Tuesday, March 23, 2010 at 8:30 a.m. The keynote will feature Gordon Gillette, president of DistribuTECH host utility Tampa Electric Co., and Dave Barry, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist. And, the newest edition to the keynote is grid guru Katherine Hamilton.

Katherine Hamilton is president of the GridWise Alliance. She joined GridWise after being the policy advisor for Good Energies, Inc., a private investment company with a current portfolio in clean energy technologies of more than $6 billion. Hamilton was previously co-director of the American Bioenergy Association where, in addition to advocating for clean uses of biomass for power and fuels, she advised the Governor of New Jersey on the biomass components for a state renewable portfolio standard.

After the keynote, the conference itself opens for business with a bevy of learning opportunities. Sessions are broken down into related tracks, including: advanced metering, customer service, demand response, distribution automation, enterprise information and asset management, mobile and geospatial solutions, renewables and the grid, SCADA, substation automation, engineering and the transmission track. (The renewables and the grid track is new this year to DistribuTECH, and we look forward to it become a staple of the DistribuTECH conference line-up.)

Despite all the great options for education, DistribuTECH is not all learning and no play. There are plenty of social opportunities to just sit and visit with colleagues, acquaintances and new friends. An opening reception will be held on the floor on Tuesday, March 23, 2010 from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. A second exhibit floor reception follows on Wednesday, March 24, 2010. That reception, called "It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere," will run from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. at the sponsors' booths right before DistribuTECH throws a bash to celebrate its 20th anniversary from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

If attendees would like to mix networking with a bit of learning, DistribuTECH offers a number of breakfast roundtables, as well as a breakfast keynote. These roundtable discussions provide an excellent opportunity to network with peers and meet industry experts while taking in a hearty meal. Roundtables with specific industry topics will be moderated by leading professionals in each field. Well, one year a roundtable was hosted by me, but we won't hold that against all the other pros who chat up the breakfast roundtables.

Besides the fabulous conference sessions and networking opportunities at DistribuTECH, attendees also have the change to visit the show's large exhibit floor, which featured over 300 exhibitors in 2009. Plus, one popular part of the show and exhibit floor attendance at DistribuTECH is the car giveaway, which will be continued in 2010. This year, someone will drive away in a new Chevrolet Camaro. Sadly, I am not eligible to win the Camaro, which is awfully sad. I was hoping to live out my old 1980s TV Simon and Simon fantasies. (Remember, the cute one on Simon and Simon drove a couple of Camaros. Am I dating myself here? Probably. Good show, though.)

Back to the important show stuff: DistribuTECH 2009 in San Diego brought a record number of people to the bayside conference center in San Diego with nearly 5,800 attendees and more than 300 exhibiting companies. In 2010, DistribuTECH is expected to break that record with nearly 6,200 professionals expected to grace the halls of the Tampa Convention Center. With such a wide range of conference sessions, exposition and networking opportunities and even the change to win a Camaro (and pretend to be the cute one from Simon and Simon), DistribuTECH 2010 promises to brighten up Tampa with a number of powerful, interesting options for attendees this March.

I hope to see you there.