By Anto Budiardjo, founder of GridWeek.

GridWeek attracts the complete diversity of global stakeholders to explore Smart Grid’s impact on our economy, utility infrastructure, consumers, and the environment. The event was structured in 2007 by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and key Smart Grid players as the venue for defining the Smart Grid agenda.

GridWeek is October 18-21 in Washington DC.

Collaboration has been a key attribute of GridWeek. With an agenda planned and organized by a representative committee of industry stakeholders, GridWeek’s content is focused on the most timely, relevant, and pressing industry topics. It is only by this level of unprecedented collaboration that Clasma Events can deliver a critically acclaimed event, year after year. In 2010, collaboration has reached new heights.

The GridWeek 2010 Organizing Committee is made up of some forty individuals from major organizational partners – including the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Edison Electric Institute (EEI), American Public Power Association (APPA), National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Utilities Telecom Council (UTC), National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), U.S. Department of Commerce International Trade Administration (ITA), GridWise Architecture Council (GWAC), and Galvin Electricity Initiative – as well as sponsors, media, and industry leaders.

The committee began its work last December, mapping out the topics that would be imperative for advancing Smart Grid during this critical time, resulting in the robust agenda contained in this supplement. GridWeek’s promise of “Empowering Our Energy Future through Collaboration, Education, and Conversation” is delivered via four days of rich content, each centered around one key theme.

On Monday the GridWeek International Summit marks the third year of thought leadership around the globalization of Smart Grid, including worldwide implementation strategies, international innovation, and advancement of global standards. Through collaboration with ITA, Monday’s agenda will offer strategic insight on global Smart Grid deployments, business, and policy – in a practicable, implementable context.

Tuesday’s sessions will help answer the industry’s “how-to” questions on consumer engagement during panels dedicated to fostering consumer dialogue, communicating Smart Grid benefits, encouraging consumer buy-in, and understanding the consumer side of the meter. Sessions will also explore new demands on utility Information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructures and the challenges of securely managing significant amounts of new consumer data.

Wednesday’s agenda is focused on actionable deployment strategies from the perspective of utilities around the world. Sessions will provide a complete picture of Smart Grid progress by municipal, co-op, and investor-owned utilities; the impact of standards on utility operations; and strategies for integration of Smart Grid technologies both on the grid (i.e. substations) and beyond the meter into the homes and buildings of residential, commercial, and industrial customers.

The last day at GridWeek offers collaborative opportunities to explore ways to rapidly advance Smart Grid success. Topics will include evaluating Smart Grid investment benefits using hands-on tools; practical discussions on integrating disparate technology systems; and successfully managing the transformational forces of regulation, policy, data, and standards. A key new component of GridWeek is the EV Grid Summit, bringing together leaders working in the integration of Electric Vehicle and Smart Grid. Sessions will also address how to apply standards to enable – not disable – Smart Grid progress.

Some of the most profound strategic insights from the industry’s top thought leaders are offered during GridWeek’s plenary sessions and keynotes, held Monday through Wednesday in the morning and Thursday during the afternoon’s call-to-action closing session. Plenaries typically include keynotes from leading thought leaders like the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Commerce, leading congressional members, and senior industry executives. Last year’s industry roundtable was hailed as the most valuable and memorable session of the entire conference.

GridWeek is recognized globally as the venue for utilities, policymakers, regulators, technology companies, consumer advocates, and non-profit organizations to collaborate and understand their role in accelerating Smart Grid implementation, adoption, and success. If you have a stake in the smart grid, we invite you to take part in the only event of its kind created by a comprehensive representation of visionaries and technologists responsible for motivating and shaping the transformation of Smart Grid.