Smart Grid, Distribution Reliability, and the Emergence of Predictive Technologies are Focus of February Utility Conference

COLUMBUS, Ohio--(Business Wire)--
Improving Smart Grid and overhead distribution reliability and the emergence of
predictive technologies will be the focus of an important utility conference
taking place in Columbus, Ohio, February 9-11 of 2010.

The Smart Grid & Overhead Distribution Reliability Conference explores the
latest reliability measures and technologies being used by utilities to prepare
distribution networks for the higher standard required for Smart Grid data
transmission lines. "Run-to-failure reliability strategies are incompatible with
Smart Grid requirements," declares John Lauletta, President and CEO of Exacter,
Inc., one of the conference sponsors. "Clean signals for data transmission are
the new standard in conjunction with minimizing outage time. I think a lot of
people will be surprised at the new technologies and solutions available for
eliminating line interference."

Paul Feldman, Board Chairman of the Midwest ISO and conference speaker, will be
sharing insights from his recent paper on improving distribution reliability.
"Improving the reliability of our distribution system is perhaps the biggest
challenge for implementing Smart Grid," says Feldman. "More than 80% of all
outages are directly attributed to distribution failure, but technologies and
approaches now exist to significantly change that."

Conference speakers will present cutting-edge methods being employed by
utilities across the country that are making an impact on distribution
reliability. Utility case studies showing how predictive technologies identify
equipment in weakened, pre-fail conditions will also be presented.

Professors from The Ohio State University who have done extensive research on
why equipment fails will share their insights, and the conference will also
explore business case scenarios for addressing SAIFI/SAIDI reduction.

"If you will be deploying Smart Grid technology, if you are looking for new
ideas for reducing SAIFI/SAIDI, if you want to see the latest technologies and
ideas for improving distribution reliability, this is the one conference in the
utility industry you should attend," concludes Lauletta. "It`s a conference
about new ideas and new approaches for addressing the higher-reliability
standards Smart Grid demands."

Conference-goers will receive 1.5 continuing education credits (CEUs) from IEEE
for attending. Cost of the conference is $795 for IEEE members before December 9
- $995 for all attendees after December 9. For more conference information:
http://www.exacterinc.com/conference.html

Exacter, Inc.
Colleen Groezinger, 614-880-9320
cgroezinger@exacterinc.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009