Don Nickles

The COMPETE Coalition will sponsor a day-long conference October 5th to discuss the opportunities and challenges facing national electric vehicle deployment, grid modernization and how they tie into America’s Smart Grid future.
 
The free conference – Electric Vehicle Technology and Grid Modernization: How PHEVs and Smart Grid Come Together – takes place at the Phoenix Park Hotel in Washington, D.C., and is co-sponsored by the Center for Business and Regulation, College of Business and Management, University of Illinois-Springfield.
 

KEMA – a leading global energy and utility industry consultancy – will examine key business and policy issues facing retail energy markets at a two-day forum on March 30-31 near Dallas, Texas. The forum will convene key stakeholders in the U.S. retail energy industry and feature industry executives, state and federal regulators, investors and energy buyers - including several COMPETE members.

The conference – KEMA’s 21^st Executive Forum: Change through choice – will focus on the current state of retail energy competition and where it is headed in the future. Industry leaders will discuss the strategic issues facing evolving energy markets and the impact on retail customers. Participants will also explore technological innovations and advancements in renewable energy.

Thursday’s Hartford Courant brought good news for electricity consumers: “Many CL&P Customers To See Lower Rates Starting Jan.1” Electric rates will decrease 5.2 percent in January for most of Connecticut Light & Power’s 1.2 million customers, continuing a trend of declining electricity prices in competitive electricity markets as reflected in the state’s declining costs.

The rate reduction is a result of Connecticut’s participation in New England’s wholesale competitive market managed by ISO New England, a regional transmission organization. Consumers who shop for competitive energy suppliers in Connecticut have benefited directly from falling electricity prices in the past year – a trend recently noted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.