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FOCUS ON EUROPEAN UTILITY WEEK EUROPEAN UTILITY WEEK DELIVERS AGAIN! on grid security than at any previous time. ‘Cyber and grid security is a massive issue which we in the utility industry need to manage correctly to avoid problems further down the road. It’s not just security which is important, but also privacy. Both angles need to be considered. The system is becoming more vulnerable, across more points than ever before. European Utility Week has announced that the event will be moving to Vienna in 2015, and this move has been met by excitement by attendees at the event. Says Paddy Young, Show Director for European Utility Week: ‘The move is really simulated by popular demand, and the response [to the announcement] has been excellent.’ Young continues: ‘For three days Amsterdam was the place to be for anyone who’s anyone in the smart utility sector. Ultimately, all involved agreed on the importance of co-operation for future energy innovation. ‘We would like to thank everyone who contributed to the success of the show, and hope to see them all next year in Vienna!’ ‘There are a lot of storage pilots which are turning into business cases, which is again an improvement on two years ago, or even on last year.’ ‘Data, and everything you can do with it becomes of greater interest and with that data analytics – a crucial tool for grid modernisation and effectively providing the business case for that modernisation to take place. The meter is obviously important, but using the information in the right way becomes even more important. This will improve network management and strengthens the utility position. In this regard security issues will increase over the upcoming years” – Brusse says that they have more utilities attending sessions ‘Sensor development in medium voltage networks will become prevalent, but on low voltage networks, especially those that are buried, there is a lot of information on the status of that network that is not currently available. Smart grid development will focus more and more on low voltage networks in order to monitor and manage these efficiently.’ Brusse further told Metering & Smart Energy International that the new event location of Vienna ‘reflects the needs of the market in terms of interesting regions, such as Germany and Central/Eastern Europe. There is a lot happening in Germany in terms of renewable energy; and Eastern European countries are putting efforts into developing their grids and establishing best practice models for smart metering and smart grids. ‘The new Innovation Area has been very successful and will expand next year, providing a great opportunity for startup companies to get involved and bring new technologies to European Utility Week.’ Elisabeth Brusse, “General Manager at Synergy, speaking about the programme and trends in the industry, told Metering & Smart Energy International: ‘We see an increasing interest in the topics around consumer engagement; consumers will play a vital role in the smart energy transition. ‘On the smart grid programme, it’s been around data analytics, data management, ICT infrastructure and renewable integration – you can see this by the fact that we have four sessions running around the grid & renewable integration – and this, of course, has a tie in with storage. The interest in storage has boomed in the last year, the programme has been extended and we expect this trend to continue. An Orchestra of Utilities 4 - 6 November 2014, Amsterdam 44 METERING INTERNATIONAL ISSUE - 5 | 2014