Looking Ahead to Electrification 2022
Steve Mitnick is President of Lines Up, Inc., Executive Editor of Public Utilities Fortnightly, and co-author of a new book, “Front Lines to Power Lines,” and before that the author of “Women Leading Utilities, the Pioneers and Path to Today and Tomorrow,” “Lewis Latimer, the First Hidden Figure,” and “Lines Down: How We Pay, Use, Value Grid Electricity Amid the Storm.” Mitnick was formerly an expert witness in proceedings before the utility regulatory commissions of six states, the District of Columbia, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and in Canada, and a faculty member at Georgetown University teaching undergraduate microeconomics, macroeconomics and statistics.
The health and safety of all who attend every EPRI event is the highest priority. As such, EPRI has decided to reschedule the Electrification 2022 International Conference & Exposition to June 28-30, 2022 at the Charlotte Convention Center.
Sometimes, even now, I dream of Long Beach. Not of its sandy beaches and California sunshine, mind you. But of the Electric Power Research Institute's Electrification 2018 held there more than three years ago. You might recall I wrote a rap for the occasion.
I spoke at the first plenary session, as a guest moderator. At the time, it hadn't been all that long since the length of a cord generally tied you to a spot. Though rechargeable batteries were constantly becoming more efficient, more effective. Today, forty months hence, carrying around rechargeable appliances and devices and driving rechargeable electric cars is completely commonplace.
It was like a World's Fair of Electricity. The crowd was well over two thousand people. One of the biggest conferences I had ever been to. It was exciting to have that many people exploring electrification, in the same place, at the same time.