Press Releases
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BRIDGE, a Buildy Award Finalist, to Sponsor and Present at ConnectivityWeek
05.24.11
Tony Giroti, CEO of BRIDGE, to moderate the Power Grid Meets IT and participate on the Smart Grid Architecture panel while Dave O’Brien, Director of Regulatory Strategy, speaks to the Economic Benefits of Smart Grid
SANTA CLARA, CA and MARLBOROUGH, MA – May 24, 2011 – BRIDGE Energy Group, Inc., the trusted advisor and implementation partner in Smart Grid Integration and Utility Solutions, today announced its sponsorship and participation in Connectivity Week 2011. This four day event, taking place May 23-26 in Santa Clara, California, is the only conference organized by Smart Grid stakeholders and focused exclusively on the complete Smart Grid picture.
Tony Giroti, CEO of BRIDGE Energy Group, will lead the session Next Generation of Innovation: Power Grid Meets IT during the Role of IT in Smart Grid track. The panel will explore the innovative, bleeding edge applications for the myriad of energy-consuming devices beyond the grid. Mr. Giroti will also participate on the Smart Grid Architecture panel. This session will explain what is being done in the Smart Grid Interoperability Panel (SGIP) SG Architecture Committee including a review the SGAC Conceptual Architecture work, the status of the semantic working group in the SGAC and the overall status of standards from an architectural standpoint. Mr. Giroti will present as a current member of the SGAC.
David O’Brien, Director of Regulatory Strategy and Compliance will participate on the panel for The Economic Benefits of Smart Grid. The session will discuss the economic benefits of the various investments in smart grid related assets, systems, standards, programs and rate design initiatives. Speakers will explore the different methodologies used to measure the costs and benefits associated with each smart grid initiative, and discuss the regulatory changes that may be necessary to maximize the expected economic impact.
“BRIDGE is pleased to collaborate with other stakeholders in the industry to help participants to integrate a smart energy mindset into their business models,” said Tony Giroti, CEO of BRIDGE Energy Group and member of the GridWise Architecture Council (GWAC). “The GridWise Expo provides an excellent opportunity to explore the technologies, standards, and regulatory issues and opportunities for realizing Smart Grid benefits at the consumer level.”
BRIDGE has also been named as a finalist for the Buildy Award in Smart Grid for its open Smart Grid Reference Architecture (openSGRA). OpenSGRA was developed in response to an overwhelming industry need for a strategic IT architecture that specifically addresses the integration and interoperability challenges as identified by the Department of Energy. OpenSGRA is vendor‐neutral, technology‐agnostic and independent of any product.
Since 2004, the Buildy Awards have been presented to leaders, visionaries and implementers of smart devices and smart systems. BRIDGE has been identified as an organization who has shown new and innovative ideas and technologies related to Smart Grid connectivity, particularly as it relates to enabling Smart Grid benefits beyond the grid into energy end-use sectors.
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BRIDGE to Sponsor and Present at the Smart Grid RoadShow
05.04.11
David O’Brien, Director of Regulatory Strategy and Compliance, to Present on the “Regulatory Roundup: Now Hear This!” Panel
CHATTANOOGA, TN and MARLBOROUGH, MA – May 4, 2011 – BRIDGE Energy Group, Inc., the trusted advisor and implementation partner in Smart Grid Integration and Utility Solutions, announced its sponsorship and participation in The Smart Grid Roadshow. This two day event will be held on May 4-5th at the Chattanoogan Hotel in Chattanooga, TN.
The Spring 2011 Smart Grid RoadShow is the 6th installment of this unique conference series and plans to continue to deliver on its reputation as the highest quality event of its kind, focused exclusively on Grid Transformation and Smart Grid initiatives.
David O’Brien, Director of Regulatory Strategy and Compliance at BRIDGE Energy Group, will present on the panel, “Regulatory Roundup: Now Hear This!” as part of the luncheon on Wednesday, May 4th. This session is focused on exploring the regulatory perspective on Smart Grid development and evolution.
According to Mr. O’Brien, "The emerging smart grid is a genuine ‘game changer’ in how utilities will operate the grid and how consumers will purchase and consume energy. It is truly unique to see such a rapid, transformative change occur in a regulated industry. Unquestionably, this places a strain on the established regulatory process that greatly values stability and predictable outcomes."
Mr. O’Brien adds, “It may be foreign for many in the high-tech sector, but these principles have been consistently applied for the better part of the last century. Mutual adaptation is called for here. Both proponents and regulators will need to learn new approaches for the smart grid vision to be fully realized.”
The first Regulatory Roundup was launched in 2010 as an exciting new dimension to the Smart Grid RoadShow event. As part of the second Regulatory Roundup, Mr. O’Brien will be joined by experts from GE Electric, S&C Electric and Duke Energy to participate in an interactive discussion concerning regulatory issues.
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BRIDGE to Sponsor the Networked Grid and Join the Smart Grid Enterprise Architecture Panel
05.03.11
Dan Brancaccio, Senior Technical Architect at BRIDGE, to Present on the Panel for “The Smart Utility Enterprise: Software and Systems Integration Enabling a Seamless Utility Back-End”
SAN FRANCISCO, CA and MARLBOROUGH, MA – May 3, 2011 – BRIDGE Energy Group, Inc., the trusted advisor and implementation partner in Smart Grid Integration and Utility Solutions, announced its sponsorship and participation in The Networked Grid. This two day event will be held on May 3-4th at the Mission Bay Conference Center in San Francisco, CA. The Networked Grid 2011 is Greentech Media’s premier summit, covering next-generation smart grid infrastructure and applications. This year's conference will highlight the critical, emerging trend relating to the integration of intelligence in the power layer infrastructure itself, among other topics.
Dan Brancaccio, Senior Technical Architect at BRIDGE, will participate on the panel covering “The Smart Utility Enterprise: Software and Systems Integration Enabling a Seamless Utility Back-End.” The panel will delve into the gritty reality of implementing Smart Grid technology and discuss the on-the-fly retrofit of new technology into legacy systems. Mr. Brancaccio will help to further dissect the collision of Information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT), as smart devices begin to permeate the transmission and distribution infrastructure.
“I'm looking forward to gleaning a business dimension to the enterprise architecture discussion from experts like Dan and the other panelists,” said Chet Geschickter in a recent article on The Networked Grid. “The end game is to develop a Smart Grid enterprise ‘elevator pitch’ to explain the benefits of investing in new enabling infrastructure hardware and software to the business layperson - be it a regulator, executive, or ‘ratepayer.’”
For BRIDGE Energy Group, taking a holistic view at Information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) is nothing new. According to Colum Lundt, COO of BRIDGE, “In many cases, projects are being planned and budgeted on a compartmentalized basis – without an enterprise vision and strategy,” said Mr. Lundt. “Without a holistic enterprise level approach that views IT and OT integration as critical, an investment in one-off pilot projects may actually shortchange future benefits in other cross-cutting areas of Distribution Automation.”
As part of the event, the most current topics will be covered by additional experts in the industry and discussed by utilities, major corporations and vendors, policy makers, innovators, financial executives and more. Download the Release (PDF)
BRIDGE to Sponsor and Present at the 3rd Annual Asset Management for Energy and Utilities Summit
03.31.11
Tony Giroti, CEO of BRIDGE, to present an action plan on how to maximize Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) Solutions to identify and manage critical assets
MARLBOROUGH MA – March 31, 2011 – BRIDGE Energy Group, Inc., the trusted advisor and implementation partner in Smart Grid Integration and Utility Solutions, announced its sponsorship and participation in the 3rd Annual Asset Management for Energy and Utilities Summit. This two-day conference will be held from April 5th-6th at the Delta Toronto East Hotel in Toronto, Ontario.
The Asset Management for Energy and Utilities Summit is an annual event designed to benefit executives and managers in the energy industry, asset management software companies, GIS, business systems providers, engineers, and accounting and business process consultants. The focus of the conference will be to discuss and tackle an issue that has become the biggest challenge the grid since its creation - integrating the aging infrastructure with newer technologies.
“The interoperability of systems is a key predecessor to an effective Enterprise Asset Management Solution,” said Tony Giroti, CEO of BRIDGE. “Leveraging technology to obtain information on an aging asset infrastructure, gives utility executives a holistic and more accurate view of systems before making decisions on how to best meet short and long term asset requirements. Without the proper integration of systems, asset data remains locked in silos or spread across multiple systems.”
Tony Giroti, CEO of BRIDGE, will present the topic, “How to Maximize Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) Solutions to Identify and Manage Critical Assets.” The session will provide an overview of how EAM allows companies to take a fuller view of their asset management plan. Mr. Giroti will discuss how to leverage the role of technology in EAM, refine opportunities to improve and manage asset health, and determine how to incorporate multiple layers of management into your asset management plan. As part of the session, Mr. Giroti will provide insight regarding how to create an action plan to establish or improve an Enterprise Asset Management plan.
This event attracts a broad audience from various industries and will provide insight from several case studies including: Minnesota Power, Power Stream, British Columbia Technical Institute, BC Hydro, Scottish Power (Ivara), Chapel and Associates, Deloitte Canada, and Centre for Maintenance Optimization and Reliability Engineering. Download the Release (PDF)
David J. O’Brien, the Former Commissioner of Public Service for the State of Vermont, Joins BRIDGE Energy Group
02.28.11
Mr. O'Brien to serve as the Director of Regulatory Strategy and Compliance
February 28, 2011 – Marlborough, MA – BRIDGE Energy Group, Inc., the trusted advisor and implementation partner for providing Smart Grid Integration and Utility Solutions to the Energy industry, today announced that David J. O’Brien, the Former Commissioner of Public Service for the State of Vermont, will bring his experience to the role of Director of Regulatory Strategy & Compliance for BRIDGE.
“David O’Brien is an excellent asset to BRIDGE,” said Colum Lundt, COO of BRIDGE Energy Group. “To ensure that our clients are able to realize the vision of their projects, it’s critical for BRIDGE to expand on its core IT service and serve as a fair arbiter who seeks very practical solutions for our clients in a highly regulated environment. Mr. O’Brien is the perfect candidate to lead in this role.”
As the Director of Regulatory Strategy & Compliance, Mr. O’Brien will leverage his extensive experience, including the development of a statewide Smart Grid implementation project, to build a practice area focused on the regulatory side of similar projects. Specifically, he will oversee regulatory solutions that will be made available to BRIDGE’s utility clients in order to help them to develop strategies that will garner the confidence of regulators.
“Most utility investment requests - such as new substations, generators, poles and wires - are well understood by regulatory staff and met with routine acceptance,” said David O’Brien, Director of Regulatory Strategy & Compliance at BRIDGE Energy Group. “But with Smart Grid, the technical nature of the equipment combined with the early stage nature of the platforms, naturally gives rise to healthy caution on the part of many regulators. BRIDGE’s vision for the regulatory practice is to expand on solutions that balance out the risks and benefits between regulators and utilities so that an environment of innovation can take hold.”
Prior to joining BRIDGE, Mr. O'Brien was the Commissioner of the Department of Public Service under Governor Jim Douglas. As Commissioner, he was responsible for regulation of the electric, natural gas, telecommunications and water industries in Vermont. Most notably, Mr. O’Brien led an executive team for the design and implementation of a $138 million statewide Smart Grid implementation project.
Mr. O'Brien holds a Bachelors degree in accounting from the University of Bridgeport and a Masters in Finance from Fairfield University. Download the Release (PDF)
02.28.11
Mr. O'Brien to serve as the Director of Regulatory Strategy and Compliance
February 28, 2011 – Marlborough, MA – BRIDGE Energy Group, Inc., the trusted advisor and implementation partner for providing Smart Grid Integration and Utility Solutions to the Energy industry, today announced that David J. O’Brien, the Former Commissioner of Public Service for the State of Vermont, will bring his experience to the role of Director of Regulatory Strategy & Compliance for BRIDGE.
“David O’Brien is an excellent asset to BRIDGE,” said Colum Lundt, COO of BRIDGE Energy Group. “To ensure that our clients are able to realize the vision of their projects, it’s critical for BRIDGE to expand on its core IT service and serve as a fair arbiter who seeks very practical solutions for our clients in a highly regulated environment. Mr. O’Brien is the perfect candidate to lead in this role.”
As the Director of Regulatory Strategy & Compliance, Mr. O’Brien will leverage his extensive experience, including the development of a statewide Smart Grid implementation project, to build a practice area focused on the regulatory side of similar projects. Specifically, he will oversee regulatory solutions that will be made available to BRIDGE’s utility clients in order to help them to develop strategies that will garner the confidence of regulators.
“Most utility investment requests - such as new substations, generators, poles and wires - are well understood by regulatory staff and met with routine acceptance,” said David O’Brien, Director of Regulatory Strategy & Compliance at BRIDGE Energy Group. “But with Smart Grid, the technical nature of the equipment combined with the early stage nature of the platforms, naturally gives rise to healthy caution on the part of many regulators. BRIDGE’s vision for the regulatory practice is to expand on solutions that balance out the risks and benefits between regulators and utilities so that an environment of innovation can take hold.”
Prior to joining BRIDGE, Mr. O'Brien was the Commissioner of the Department of Public Service under Governor Jim Douglas. As Commissioner, he was responsible for regulation of the electric, natural gas, telecommunications and water industries in Vermont. Most notably, Mr. O’Brien led an executive team for the design and implementation of a $138 million statewide Smart Grid implementation project.
Mr. O'Brien holds a Bachelors degree in accounting from the University of Bridgeport and a Masters in Finance from Fairfield University. Download the Release (PDF)
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