Felt like a visit to the United Nations General Assembly. There were representatives of the electricity industries of every continent, save Antarctica, at the Edison Electric Institute’s 4th Annual Global Electrification Forum on April 10. It reminds us that the accomplishments, changes and challenges in electricity are common internationally. And that sharing experiences and ideas with utilities and utility regulators across the Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania is invaluable.
The session entitled Frontier of Technology for an Electrified Future featured Mike Howard, CEO, Electric Power Research Institute, Ty Christopher, general manager for asset management, Endeavour Energy (Australia), Kate Chisholm, senior vice president and chief legal and sustainability officer, Capital Power (Canada), Terry Sobolewski, senior vice president and chief customer officer, National Grid US, and Nigel Barbour, CEO, Powerco (New Zealand).
The session entitled CEO’s Crystal Ball featured Basil Scarsella, CEO, UK Power Markets and Nick Akins, CEO, AEP. UK Power Markets manages the electricity distribution network across London and the southeast and east of England.
Photo: The session entitled Reimagining the Customer Experience featured, from left, Ahmed Ali Al-Ebrahim, CEO, Gulf Cooperation Council Interconnection Authority (Bahrain), Nicole Faulk, vice president for customer service and operations, Mississippi Power, Pat O’Doherty, CEO, Electricity Supply Board (Ireland), and Abel Tella, director-general, Association of Power Utilities in Africa (Cote d’Ivoire).
