BURLINGTON, MA--(Marketwire - April 5, 2011) - Glendale Water & Power (GWP) General Manager and CEO Glenn Steiger will be a featured speaker at KEMA's fourth annual Utility of the Future Leadership Forum, "Shaping the Future." Steiger will participate on a panel of industry executives to discuss the role of sophisticated energy consumers -- or 'prosumers' -- at the KEMA forum, being held June 6-8, 2011, at The Four Seasons, Denver, Colo.
Steiger will share insights into engaging with utility customers that actively produce and sell their own electric energy, as part of the panel "The Prosumer - Not Just Your Average End User" on Wednesday, June 8. Panel members will also include Audrey Zibelman, CEO of Viridity Energy, and Byron Washom, director of Strategic Energy Initiatives at the University of California, San Diego.
"The utility industry is at a transition point, and so are our customers," said Steiger. "Society and technology have changed dramatically over the last five years alone and they are continuing to change rapidly. We are seeing our customers become more engaged and proactive not only in using electricity more efficiently, but also in generating their own sources of electricity. We have to look at the future of the utility industry as operating in a very different way than we do today. We need to recognize our customers as partners. And we need to communicate and engage with our customers in a way that allows them to interact with us in new and different ways."
The 2011 Utility of the Future Forum features one and one-half days of discussions about industry game changers, new business models, and the changing roles of utilities, customers, and suppliers. Executive-level panel discussions will focus on CEOs' views of the future utility: the road to sustainability, gas as part of the smart grid paradigm, the integration of new and ever-changing technologies, and consumer and 'prosumer' engagement. Throughout the forum, there will be high-level networking opportunities to share perspectives, collaborate, and engage in dialog.
Senior executives are invited to join their peers in the Utility of the Future discussions to share ideas and discover opportunities to shape a more sustainable, reliable, profitable utility of the future. Register and learn more about the 2011 Utility of the Future Forum.
About Glendale Water & Power
Glendale Water & Power is the City of Glendale's utility. Glendale Water & Power provides water to 33,400 customers in Glendale, California. The city-owned utility also generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to 84,500 residential, commercial, and industrial customers.
About KEMA
Founded in 1927, KEMA is a global provider of business and technical consulting, operational support, measurement and inspection, testing and certification for the energy and utility industry. With world headquarters in Arnhem, the Netherlands, KEMA employs more than 1,700 professionals globally with offices and representatives in more than 20 countries. KEMA's U.S. subsidiary, KEMA Inc. is headquartered in Burlington, Mass., and serves energy clients throughout the Americas and Caribbean.
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