Penton's The Energy Times Launches a Successful Renewable Conference in California

NEW YORK, April 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Penton's The California Renewables Rush – a one-day conference dedicated to exploring the nation-leading transformation of the utility and energy industry in California – was held April 6, 2016 in San Francisco. The conference was attended by over 160 decision makers from utilities, government, solution providers and academia. Of those attendees, ten U.S. utilities were represented and the event garnered unprecedented sponsorship and endorsement by four of the major utilities in California and the Edison Electric Institute, which represents investor-owned utilities serving 220 million Americans.

The conference opened with Commissioner Colette D. Honorable of the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), addressing the audience. Honorable perfectly summed up not only the conference, but the industry in general, when she said, "Energy makes the world go around. It's energy that powers our economy."

That sentiment was reiterated throughout the days proceeding. Highlights of the conference include:

• Drew Murphy, senior vice president of strategic planning, Edison International, helped launch the conference with insight into the world of electric utilities, energy infrastructure and the power grid.
• Mark Toney, executive director, The Utility Reform Network, discussed the policies that are needed for the California energy revolution to proceed and protect the state's consumers.
• Constance H. Lau, president and CEO, Hawaiian Electric Industries shared how her Hawaiian utility is addressing the energy revolution, absorbing high levels of renewable penetration and learning to deal with the consequences.
• Danny Kennedy, managing director, California Clean Energy Fund and co-founder of Sungevity, a solar firm, reflected on his journey as a champion for renewables.
• John Kliem, deputy director, Department of the Navy's Renewable Energy Office (REPO), discussed the U.S. Navy's role in steering the Armed Forces toward unprecedented energy efficiency and renewable deployment.
• David Owens, executive vice president, Edison Electric Institute, steered a wide-ranging discussion of the new utility business model.
• Bart Thielbar, VP, North American Utilities Practice Leader, Capgemini, moderated a panel of the nation's leading researchers that addressed the quest for more affordable energy storage.

Marty Rosenberg, Content Director of The Energy Times and Event Chair said of the conference, "Our California Renewables Rush conference in San Francisco earlier this month featured many stunning, important energy insights."

"We will be back next April with another provocative look at the many implications of the renewable energy revolution in America. But first, we will provide a detailed look at the emerging utility business model at Empowering Customers & Cities this November in Chicago," Rosenberg said.

The second annual Empowering Customers & Cities conference will be held at Chicago's Swissôtel, November 1-2. Headlining the conference will be Jeremy Rifkin, noted international thinker on the Internet of Things (IoT) and what it will mean for energy. ComEd will return as host utility sponsor. IoT and connected devices are a major theme across Penton impacting many industry sectors including the energy industry.

The Chicago conference will also feature Anne Pramaggiore, ComEd president and CEO, and Thomas Birr, senior vice president of strategy and corporate development at RWE, the largest German and Dutch utility.

The California Renewables Rush conference sponsors include: PG&E, Edison International, SDG&E, SMUD, Burns & McDonnell, Capgemini, Oracle Utilities, Edison Electric Institute and the San Francisco Chronicle.

Media interested in obtaining media credentials to attend Empowering Customers & Cities, contact Ashley Lutz at [email protected].

To learn about Empowering Customers & Cities sponsorship opportunities, contact Todd Hagen at [email protected].

ABOUT THE ENERGY TIMES
The Energy Times provides online news and insight on the business and strategy of generation, delivering and using electric power to an audience of 65,000. Coverage includes the news, trends and solutions that impact both energy providers and energy customers in the new energy landscape. It organized the landmark "Empowering Customers & Cities" 2015 conference, which attracted more than 250 attendees from around the world. The conference will occur once again on November 1-2.

ABOUT PENTON
Penton drives performance for more than sixteen million professionals each and every day. They rely on us to deliver: Insights, information & workflow tools to inform critical business decisions; networking & community to engage them with industry peers & partners; and data & marketing services to advance their business performance & deliver ROI.

Penton is a growth company with a track-record of strong performance and success and is backed by its co-owners: MidOcean Partners and U.S. Equity Partners II, an investment fund sponsored by Wasserstein & Co., LP.

For additional information on the company and its businesses, visit www.penton.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Ashley Lutz
Marketing Manager
The Energy Times | The California Renewables Rush | Empowering Customers & Cities
913.967.7514
[email protected]

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SOURCE Penton

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