U.S. Department of Commerce, Austin Energy to keynote conference

International research firm Parks Associates today announced the preliminary agenda and current speakers, sponsors, and advisory board for the Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer. This conference, hosted in cooperation with Austin Energy on January 25-27 at the Hyatt Regency in Austin, Tex., focuses on opportunities in residential energy management and the challenges of bringing Smart Grid technologies to U.S. households.

Sessions include the latest consumer research from Parks Associates' landmark Residential Energy Management service, which surveys both consumers and utilities on attitudes and trends in this growing industry. Early sponsors for Smart Energy Summit include Direct Energy, Exceptional Innovation, HAI, iControl Networks, and OpenPeak. Event supporters include AltEnergyMag, CABA, Energy Priorities, Home Toys, SmartGrid Today, VB/Research, and WinSmartGrid.

Andres Carvallo, CIO, Austin Energy, will present the keynote "A New Journey: Utility 2.0" on Tuesday, January 26 at 9:30 a.m. He will share his vision of the utility of the future, informed by his company's experiences developing and deploying its Smart Grid, and highlight new paradigms of business models and technologies that will transform consumers into "prosumers" - producers and consumers all in one.

Dr. George W. Arnold, National Coordinator for Smart Grid Interoperability, National Institute of Standards and Technology, U.S. Department of Commerce, will also be a keynote speaker at the conference.

"U.S. utilities plan to have about 50 million AMI-capable meters installed within the next 4-5 years," said Bill Ablondi, director, home systems research, Parks Associates. "The opportunities in developing and deploying residential energy solutions are enormous, and the Smart Energy Summit will provide attendees with the information necessary to navigate this new and growing business area. The combination of our Residential Energy Management research, the Smart Grid experience of Austin Energy, and our industry-leading speakers and sponsors makes this event unique and invaluable."

Confirmed speakers:

Susan Cashen, VP, Marketing, Control4
Steve Cashman, Chief Strategy Officer, Exceptional Innovation
David Dollihite, VP, Direct Energy
David Friedman, Senior Director, Strategic Marketing, ZeroG Wireless, Inc.
Dan Gittleman, Chairman & CEO, OpenPeak
Vince Groff, Executive Director, Cox Communications
Jim Johnson, President & CEO, uControl
Thomas Pickral, Business Development, HAI

The Smart Energy Summit Advisory Board provides input into the design and content of the event, focusing particularly on the market opportunities and business issues associated with engaging the consumer in energy management. Current Advisory Board participants:

Andres Carvallo, Chief Information Officer, Austin Energy
Steve Cashman, Chief Strategy Officer, Exceptional Innovation
Ken Wacks, Member, GridWise Architecture Council, U.S. Department of Energy
Brian Woods, CMO, OpenPeak

For more information, visit www.smartenergysummit2010.com.

About Smart Energy Summit
Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer, hosted by Parks Associates in cooperation with Austin Energy, is the premier conference studying the market for residential energy management enabled by Smart Grid technologies.

The event, January 25-27, 2010, in Austin, Tex., features a unique combination of market research, featuring results from Parks Associates' landmark Residential Energy Management service, and real-world expertise derived from Austin Energy's Smart Grid, the largest working Smart Grid in the U.S. http://www.smartenergysummit2010.com

About Parks Associates
Parks Associates is an internationally recognized market research and consulting company specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services. Founded in 1986, Parks Associates creates research capital for companies ranging from Fortune 500 to small start-ups through market reports, primary studies, consumer research, custom research, workshops, executive conferences, and annual service subscriptions.

The company's expertise includes new media, digital entertainment and gaming, home networks, Internet and television services, digital health, mobile applications and services, consumer electronics, and home control systems and security.

Each year, Parks Associates hosts executive thought leadership conferences CONNECTIONS™, with support from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA®), and CONNECTIONS™ Europe. Parks Associates produces the online publication Industry Insights in conjunction with the CONNECTIONS™ Conference series.