RURAL ELECTRICITY RESOURCE COUNCIL CONFERENCE

Contact: Pat Frew
(859) 655-4163 (w)
(513) 703-3027 (m)

RURAL ELECTRICITY RESOURCE COUNCIL CONFERENCE

Covington, KY/April 15, 2009 -- Have you ever wondered who makes decisions about the energy you use? Now is the time to find out. The Rural Electricity Resource Council (RERC) is holding a conference at the Embassy Suites RiverCenter on April 21st and 22nd. The RERC is a nonprofit organization of electric companies, rural electric cooperatives, and allied groups. It provides training materials and direct technical assistance to benefit marketers who deal with electrical companies.

The conference is intended for utility decision makers, account managers, and customer-contact staff. Many pressing energy issues will be discussed, such as strategies used by power suppliers in serving rural customers, ways to deal with the changing expectations of customers, and how to use cleaner forms of energy, among other things.

Guest speakers from all over the United States will talk about the importance of energy and the helpful tactics they use to provide for their customers. Topics include:

• "Our Approach to Renewables & Promoting Energy Efficiency" with speaker Mr. Gary Connett, Director of Environmental Stewardship & Member Services for Great River Energy at 8:45 a.m. on April 21st. Mr. Connett will talk about how his company successfully balanced the pursuit of both energy efficiency and renewable generation. He will also discuss how to apply the techniques to wind resources and develop a plan for people who attend the conference to use the knowledge he imparted.
• "New Ways to Achieve Customer-Side Efficiency This Time Around" with speaker Mr. Brian Heithoff, CEO/General Manager of Consumers Energy at 10:30 a.m. on April 21st. He will discuss how to get customers involved in being energy efficient and also embracing the use of "green" resources.
• "Using our Green Power Demonstrations to Educate Consumers" with speaker Mr. Bernie Woller, Director of Facilities and Special Projects for Buckeye Power at 8:15 a.m. on April 22nd. He will address the appeals and concerns of using biogas in farms (energy produced from animal waste).

There will also be training sessions that teach many skills that range from using cleaner forms of energy correctly to dealing with customer suggestions. To attend the conference, you do not have to be a member of the RERC, but you must deal with energy as an operator of a plant or a marketer for an electrical company. Fees must be paid at registration. To register or gather more information, please visit www.rerc.org.

The mission of the Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors Bureau is that of an aggressive sales, marketing, service and informational organization whose primary responsibility is to positively impact the Northern Kentucky economy through conventions, meetings and visitor expenditures. The direct economic impact of visitors’ spending in Campbell, Kenton and Boone Counties in 2007 was $325 million.