The McDonnell Group

SGCC Executive Director to join panels May 23 -24 in Consumer Symposium, Plenary Session, and Home Energy Management Track

ATLANTA – May 16, 2011 – Executive Director Patty Durand of the Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative (SGCC), an independent non-profit group working to foster mutual understanding between industry and consumers on all things smart grid, will play a prominent role in ConnectivityWeek 2011, May 23-26, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in California.

"The SGCC sees events like this as really driving forward the pace of change and shaping a positive tone for national discussion of these important issues," Durand said.

The Consumer Symposium, on the first day of Connectivity Week, will feature discussion to foster creative collaboration among consumer advocates, policymakers, regulators, utilities, technology companies, service providers, and the media to shape the smart grid transformation to be more effective and responsive to consumer concerns.

Durand will help open events at Monday's SGCC co-sponsored Consumer Symposium on Monday, May 23, and serve as a panelist on several important discussions throughout the week, including:

• Kickoff Roundtable in Ballroom G+H. Monday, May 23 at 11:30am to 12:00pm to examine the fundamental challenges for consumer engagement and the need for change.
• Discussion Roundtable in the Theatre. Monday, May 23 at 5:00pm to 5:30pm. Leading participants from the day will summarize the learning and discuss ways forward for smart grid consumer engagement.
• How Consumers See Value Ballroom H. Tuesday, May 24 at 1:30pm to 3:00pm. Panelists include executives charged with developing consumer markets for their organizations' energy management solutions who will discuss what they believe consumers value in energy use management.

About the Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative (SGCC)

The SGCC is a consumer focused non-profit organization aiming to promote the understanding and benefits of modernized electrical systems among all stakeholders in the United States. Membership is open to all consumer and environmental advocates, technology vendors, research scientists, and electric utilities for sharing in research, best practices, and collaborative efforts of the group. Join @ www.smartgridcc.org.