Inaugural Summit has Smart Grid Industry Leaders Interacting Directly With the CEO's of Almost 100 Forward-Thinking U.S. Electric Utility Cooperatives

ATLANTA, Feb. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Harris M. Warsaw, Vice President, General Business of the Americas for IBM, announced today that IBM will be a title sponsor of the Rural Smart Grid Summit (RSGS) beginning April 26th in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

"The Rural Smart Grid Summit is a proven and successful format that creates lasting partnerships and enables ongoing collaboration," said Warsaw. "Based on my experience at similar events, IBM has the opportunity to understand the current and future needs and wants of the electric coop sector in a unique and productive environment that is not at all like a traditional trade show or expo."

William Booth, Event Director of the RSGS, added, "The Summit creates a productive  environment in which eighty plus CEOs of the top electric coops from across the United States will interact in an intimate business setting with Smart Grid technology leaders like IBM. CEOs, Presidents, and senior decision makers of these electric coops will establish Smart Grid partnerships resulting in purchasing decisions largely due to the interaction at the Summit."

The Summit is an exclusive, invitation-only, fully paid event for the eighty plus U.S. electric coops. In addition, the Summit is opened to any and all Smart Grid vendors interested in sponsoring this event; however, the sponsorships are exclusive and limited to about 40 companies who will discuss and disclose their Smart Grid solutions and products.

"Typically in a summit format, confidential and senior level discussions take place that many times discloses future products. The final outcome is a unique and high-level partnership which would never evolve out of the typical tradeshow, where hundreds of vendors sit at their booths. The Summit knocks down the barriers and removes the wasted volume," said Booth. "A small, limited number of vendors are given a voice, not to offer a typical sales pitch but to demonstrate thought leadership and collaborate with the utilities on future trends and needs, thus establishing real business partnerships through face-to-face interaction with the electric coops' CEOs."  

The Rural Smart Grid Summit will be held at the El Conquistador Resort in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, April 26th – April 29th, 2010. Here, Smart Grid enabling vendors and electric coop leaders will participate in small, intimate meetings and share meals with the goal of crafting partnerships between vendor and coop, coop to coop, and vendor to vendor.

The top eighty plus U.S. electric coops are representative of the 865 electric cooperatives throughout the United States.  These 865 electric cooperatives in the United States serve 37 million consumers and 16 million businesses. These cooperatives cover approximately 2.4 million line miles, which is 44 percent of the nation's electric grid and 75 percent of the nation's land mass.  Cooperatives are present in 47 states and over 2,500 counties in the U.S. according to the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA).

For more information on the Summit visit www.ruralsmartgrid.com. Prospective vendor participants may contact Al Rowley at arowley@ruralsmartgrid.com.

SOURCE Rural Smart Grid Summit; IBM

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