Providence to host 2,500 power engineers, execs

An estimated 2,500 engineers and executives from power companies around the globe will be in Providence next month to attend a four-day conference hosted by National Grid, an event intended to improve the world’s electricity-delivery systems.
When they arrive, attendees will be greeted with not only the usual tourist attractions that the Ocean State is known for – such as a special WaterFire presentation – but also by a one-of-a-kind art competition and exhibit that a Federal Hill gallery is sponsoring to generate discussion about energy.
Chabot Fine Art Gallery on Atwells Avenue solicited original paintings from artists around the world, depicting the concept of “creating energy.” But in the art world, the theme is not necessarily about power lines or other physical aspects of electric transmission. “It’s creative energy,” said Chris Chabot, gallery co-owner. “It’s like that electrical feeling you get when you look at a painting.”
From May 16-19, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) will hold its 12th International Conference on Transmission and Distribution, Construction, Operation and Live-Line Maintenance at the R.I. Convention Center. Participants will begin arriving May 14 when registration opens.
The event is sponsored by the Power & Energy Society and is part of the 2011 Engineering in the Safety, Maintenance and Operation of electrical lines program, also known as ESMO.
David D. Graves, spokesman for National Grid based in Waltham, Mass., said as of late March representatives from 40 countries had signed up to attend the conference, held once every two or three years. Attendees will be senior electrical engineers and company executives from power companies and related manufacturers and suppliers, he said. “There is quite a bit of prestige associated with it,” Graves said, explaining why the local utility company is hosting the event. “It allows us to get our name out there and throughout the industry.” He also spoke of how important it is to “bring these people together” so professionals worldwide can share the industry’s “best practices.”
National Grid is making “a significant [financial] investment” to host the conference, Graves said, but he declined to provide a specific cost because he noted that private shareholders – not gas- and electric-service ratepayers – will foot the bill. Several hundred National Grid employees have volunteered to staff the conference. “It’s fun for them,” Graves said. Food and transportation vendors will be local, he noted.
The conference will feature two days of outdoor exhibits and field demonstrations, to be held at Quonset Business Park, and a two-day technical program combined with an indoor exhibit area. Early plans indicate sessions would be held on such topics as security, storm restoration, Iraqi power delivery, contractor safety, avian/bird protection and management of overhead lines, to cite just a few of the topics the conference intends to cover. Scholarly papers also will be presented.
Graves explained that outdoor activities at Quonset Business Park in North Kingstown will be held at the 58-acre site where National Grid currently is constructing H-frame towers to support energy-transmission lines. Attendees will have a chance to observe the construction site and learn about the work going on there, Graves said.
At the Chabot Fine Art Gallery, Chris Chabot said it was her idea to offer a juried, fine art painting competition to coincide with the energy conference. Submissions from artists around the world were due March 31. Chabot declined to say how many were received because late submissions would be accepted. She added that gallery owners hope conference visitors and their guests will come to the gallery to see the resultant exhibit, slated to run May 10 through June 11. Information about it will be included in the information packets that conference attendees receive, she noted.
As secretary of the Federal Hill Commerce Association, Chabot said she learned that organizers were looking for more hotel rooms as of late March because three hotels in Providence already were booked solid for the event, so there is little doubt the conference will have a noticeable impact on the local economy.
The Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau will conduct an impact study to assess the economic effects of the conference, Graves said.
At the gallery, Harel Kedem, an artist and architect affiliated with the Rhode Island School of Design, and Del-Bouree Bach, an award-winning artist who is a board member of the Providence Art Club, are judges for the energy-painting show. They will choose 25 pieces for exhibit. Best of show, second-place, third-place and honorary-mention awards also will be made, with cash prizes ranging from $500 to $100. Opening reception and an awards presentation, free and open to the public, are scheduled 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. May 19 at the gallery.
National Grid is the region’s major utility company, with approximately 7 million gas- and electric-service customers throughout New England and New York state. &#8226