Microsoft Representatives Spread Out Across the World for Major Utility Conferences

 

Next week is a busy one for the Microsoft Power & Utilities group and our Hohm team. Two major utility associations are holding their annual conferences in the same week, posing all kinds of problems of which one to attend for someone like myself with global responsibilities.

The decision this year was made for me as the people at EURELECTRIC invited me to keynote there. Andreas Berthold-van der Molen, who runs our EMEA Power & Utilities business, and I will be in Dublin Monday at the EURELECTRIC Annual Convention and Conference, offering our thoughts on the topic of “Smart Metering as Enabler for Home Automation and Customer Interaction.” This is an interesting topic indeed for all those who understand the home to be the place where utilities and customers will develop a closer relationship.  In my keynote, I intend to take a slightly different approach as I will examine the intersection of energy, home automation and the digital lifestyle and its impact on the new energy economy.

Meanwhile in Hollywood, Florida, the rest of the Utilities and Hohm team will be busy with some demonstrations of their own at the Edison Electric Institute Annual Conference. They’ll be on the Exhibition floor at Booth #516. A number of utility executives have received special invitations to test drive the All-Electric Pre-Production Ford Focus (as featured on the Jay Leno show). Unfortunately, we had to limit the invitations but we want people to learn more about how Ford Motor Company and Microsoft Hohm are teaming together to make the road to electric vehicles smooth for consumers and utilities.  Also, you are invited to join us for our sponsored breakfast on Monday at the EEI show to learn more about the exciting work we are doing together.

In sum, it’s a busy week next week so look for some exciting posts about what is going on out there in the worldwide Power & Utilities sector. – Jon C. Arnold