Will lead an international gathering of energy industry thought leaders at the inaugural GridWise® Global Forum, September 21-23 in Washington, DC.

July 1, 2010 - Washington, DC - The GridWise® Alliance, in partnership with the United States Department of Energy, today announced that Jeff Immelt, Chairman and CEO of GE and Sam Palmisano, Chairman, President and CEO of IBM, will lead an international gathering of energy industry thought leaders at the inaugural GridWise® Global Forum, September 21-23 in Washington, DC.

Other speakers include: Secretary Gary Locke, US Department of Commerce; Richard Jones, former US Ambassador, Deputy Executive Director, International Energy Agency; Mike Morris, CEO of American Electric Power; Dr. Kandeh Yumkella, Director-General of UNIDO; The Hon. Michael Scott, Minister of Energy for Bermuda; Minister Eamon Ryan, Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources for Ireland; former New York Governor George Pataki; and Saul Griffith, Other Labs.

"We are delighted with the high level of world's smart grid thought leaders who have agreed to participate in our first Global Forum," said Guido Bartels, GridWise Alliance Chair. "By bringing these leaders together, we expect to gain significant insight into the direction of smart grid internationally and how best to meet all the technical, economic, and political challenges that are likely to occur."

Jeff Immelt is GE's ninth chairman and has led the 130 year company for nine years. He's helped to shape the world with groundbreaking innovation to solve some of the globe's toughest challenges. He laid the foundation for two key initiatives - ecomagination and healthymagination. Mr. Immelt has been named one of the "World's Best CEOs" three times by Barron's. Since he began serving as chief executive officer, GE has been named "America's Most Admired Company" in a poll conducted by Fortune magazine and one of "The World's Most Respected Companies" in polls by Barron's and the Financial Times. Immelt will lay out his view of the world in 20 years from the vantage point of a corporate technology leader.

Sam Palmisano, appointed CEO of IBM in 2002, is best known for leading one of the most ambitious transformations in IBM's 99-year history. Under his leadership, IBM has made tough calls to get out of legacy businesses that it had once created, while carving out new markets focused on growth and innovation. As a result, today IBM looks quite different than it did five or 10 years ago. The company is far more globally integrated and efficient across all 400,000 employees in the 170 markets where it does business. The company's results speak for themselves. IBM has delivered record performance, year after year, for the last six years.

The GridWise Global Forum will convene an unprecedented gathering of leaders from the highest levels of government and the private sector in North America and around the globe to discuss the impact of the smart grid on the ways in which the world will use energy, the impacts of its adoption on different classes of consumers (industrial, commercial and residential), and the impacts on energy supply and the environment and opportunities for investors.

Highlights of the three-day Forum include a global snapshot of the smart grid today, next steps in the smart grid transformation and a view of the global smart grid revolution. The outcome of Forum discussions will provide a global view of smart grid, including best practices; a clearer understanding of the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead; and a commitment from countries around the world to work together to achieve the full potential of smart grid.

The GridWise Alliance, founded in 2003, is a coalition of public and private stakeholders that advocates for a smarter grid for the public good. The Alliance facilitates the effective collaboration among stakeholders, to promote, educate, and advocate for the adoption of innovative smart grid solutions. These solutions will achieve economic and environmental benefits for customers, communities, shareholders and society.

GridWise Alliance members include utilities, IT companies, equipment vendors, new technology providers and academic institutions.

For more information about the GridWise Global Forum and to register for the event, visit: www.gridwiseglobalforum.org.