Energy Ecosystem Innovators Are Gathering at DNV K

BURLINGTON, MA--(Marketwired - Apr 17, 2013) -  Throughout the Americas, the entire utility eco-system continues to face unprecedented business and technical challenges resulting in ongoing business redefinition. Global economic turmoil, regulatory uncertainty and tightening, shifting demand patterns, emerging innovation, and the expanding role of natural gas are continuously reshaping established business models and requiring industry agility. This evolution is further complicated by a global investor community with vastly different economic time horizons, at a point in history when sovereign debt and partisan gridlock put every business decision at risk. How then can the region's energy security be most effectively managed amid this turbulence while continuing to give shareholders reasonable returns?

Leading global energy management consulting, renewables, energy efficiency, and testing firm DNV KEMA uncovers solutions to these vexing issues each year during its Utility of the Future Leadership Forum . This forum attracts top business, financial and policy leaders who exchange ideas and strategies for creating a path toward a secure, sustainable, and profitable energy future.

The 6 ^th annual forum to be held June 17-19, 2013, at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Md., is open to industry executive leadership. The forum agenda and registration information are available at www.dnvkema.com/UofF2013.

"Regulatory uncertainty and political gridlock are creating ever more volatile business planning and management challenges in the utility industry and its ecosystem. As assets continue to be placed under relentless pressure, energy executives realize the need to invest billions in infrastructure, while simultaneously being confronted with inconsistent and unpredictable energy regulation and policies. This scenario is creating a challenging planning and operating environment -- one that undermines progress in areas such as capacity adequacy, resilience, compliance, renewables integration and within many other critical business initiatives," said Hugo van Nispen, Chief Operating Officer, Americas, DNV KEMA. "At the Utility of the Future forum, we will tackle many of these issues head-on with industry leaders."

Forum speakers span the energy value chain, from IOUs to Renewable Energy Providers and Policy Makers. Representatives of this leadership contingent include:

Nick Akins, President and CEO, AEP Joe Rigby, Chairman of the Board, President & CEO, PEPCO Holdings Craig Ivey, President, Consolidated Edison of New York Robert Shapard, Chairman & CEO, Oncor

The 2013 Utility of the Future Leadership Forum agenda was developed by an advisory panel that includes Bob Balzar, vice president, Tennessee Valley Authority; Lisa Johnson, senior vice president, Power Supply, OEDC, Chuck Meyer, president, Western Energy Institute, Timothy Noonaa, vice president, Boeing Energy; and Helen Bremner, executive vice president, Enmax.

About DNV KEMA Energy & Sustainability DNV KEMA Energy & Sustainability, with more than 2,300 experts in over 30 countries around the world, is committed to driving the global transition toward a safe, reliable, efficient, and clean energy future. With a heritage of nearly 150 years, we specialize in providing world-class, innovative solutions in the fields of business & technical consultancy; testing, inspections & certification; risk management; and verification. As an objective and impartial knowledge-based company, we advise and support organizations along the energy value chain: producers, suppliers & end-users of energy; equipment manufacturers; as well as government bodies, corporations, and non-governmental organizations. DNV KEMA Energy & Sustainability is part of DNV, a global provider of services for managing risk with more than 10,000 employees in over 100 countries. For more information on DNV KEMA Energy & Sustainability, visit www.dnvkema.com .

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