North America's Largest Smart Grid Show Enters Brazil

TULSA, Okla., Dec. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- PennWell Corp. -- North America's No. 1 electricity transmission and distribution show, DistribuTECH Conference & Exhibition, in 2012 will launch its South American version in Rio de Janeiro to take advantage of tremendous growth opportunities in the world's fifth-largest country and seventh-largest economy.

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DistribuTECH Brasil will be co-located with an established PennWell sister show, HydroVision Brasil, Sept. 25-27 at the Riocentro Exhibition & Convention Center. HydroVision Brasil, now in its second year, is expanding on its success in providing a conference and international exhibition focused on developing the region's hydroelectric power sectors. By co-locating the events, PennWell will provide the energy industry with an international platform for networking and new business development. More than 1,000 attendees and some 100 exhibitors are expected. Exhibit and sponsorship opportunities are available for both events.

"DistribuTECH Brasil will be a game changer," said Teresa Hansen, DistribuTECH chairwoman on both continents. "We're about to see a huge boom in Brazil's electricity transmission and distribution industry, and when exhibitors at our North American show hear we'll be in Brazil, they want to be the first ones down there on the exhibit floor and presenting case studies."

It is estimated that in the next 10 years Brazil will install 23,000 miles of new transmission lines—a 38 percent increase in the existing network, according to a UK Trade & Investment sector briefing. Brazil also is expected to replace 63 million electricity meters with smart meters by 2021, according to an Innovation Observatory report.

"DistribuTECH is already known around the world as the most trusted show in the industry and the largest in North America," Hansen said. "Brazil could be the place where some of the smaller smart grid companies become big names. Our studies show 2012 to be the perfect time for our entrance to Brazil."

DistribuTECH 2011 in San Diego set records with more than 8,400 attendees. Like the North American show, DistribuTECH Brasil will attract attendees from consultancies, electric and gas utilities, energy service companies, federal and state agencies, manufacturers and vendors.

Exhibitors will include manufacturers and suppliers of information technology products and services, communications systems and equipment, metering products and services, contractors, consortiums, financial institutions, power system automation companies, and companies involved with transmission and distribution products and services.

Conference abstracts for DistribuTECH Brasil will be accepted online until Feb. 10 in four tracks: The Power Delivery Business, Advanced Metering, System Automation, and System Operation.

For more information in English, Portuguese and Spanish on attending, exhibiting and submitting conference abstracts, visit http://distributechbrasil.com.

DistribuTECH Brasil is presented by POWERGRID International magazine and is owned and produced by PennWell Corp. based in Tulsa, Okla. PennWell Corp., founded in 1910, is a diversified business-to-business media and information company that provides quality content and integrated marketing solutions for the following industries: oil and gas, electric power, water, electronics, semiconductor, contamination control, optoelectronics, fiberoptics, enterprise storage, fire, emergency services and dental. Today PennWell Corp. has 320 profit centers, including 130 print and online magazines and newsletters, 60 conferences and exhibitions on six continents, and an extensive offering of books, maps, websites, research products, digital media and database services. In addition to PennWell's headquarters in Tulsa, the company has major offices in Nashua, New Hampshire; Houston, Texas; London, England; Fairlawn, New Jersey; Moscow, Russia; and Hong Kong, China. For more information about PennWell, visit http://pennwell.com.

If you'd like more information about DistribuTECH Brasil, DistribuTECH Conference & Exhibition, HydroVision Brasil or to schedule an interview with Conference Chairwoman Teresa Hansen, please call Senior Editor Kristen Wright at 918-64-6781 or email Kristen at [email protected].

SOURCE PennWell Corp.