COVID-19 Forces Postponement of PowerGen Intl.
TRUMBULL, Conn. — As a consequence of the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, PowerGen Intl. and Distributech Intl. will be postponed to March 30-April 1, 2021. In light of both governmental direction and general public health advisories delivering PowerGen and Distrbutech will not be possible at this time with the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the government-issued guidelines for large gatherings.
“This has been a difficult decision but the health and safety of our attendees, exhibitors, speakers, employees, and the wider public is of paramount importance to us,” said Desiree Hanson, executive vice president, Clarion Events. “We must comply with the strict public health guidelines and directives. Unfortunately, the implementation of these government regulations make it impractical to run a large-scale event. We have also reached out to our power generation and transmission and distribution communities and listened to their input around uncertainty and concerns for gathering this coming winter. We are confident that postponing PowerGen International and Distributech International to spring 2021 will ensure a successful and safe delivery of the events.”
The postponed events will open further opportunity for helping energy professionals navigate through the complex energy transition by conveniently co-locating PowerGen International with Distributech International. The co-location will result in bringing the energy industry together for these two powerhouse events happening next to each other, under one roof. While these events will remain separate, holding them alongside each other will allow attendees to conveniently access both exhibition halls and educational offerings. In addition, it will provide further opportunities to connect these two audiences for networking, bringing them together to shape the future of energy and experience the energy movement.
As previously announced PowerGen International 2021 will also be home to the newly created Leadership Summit. The two-and-a-half-day executive level summit will address the challenges facing the power generation and transmission and distribution sectors. Speakers and panelists will represent utilities, EPCs, OEMs, regulators, investors, and more. They will discuss the industry’s ambitious journey to 2050, in which historically central station-based generation represents a smaller percentage of capacity, as it’s joined by renewable energy and other forms of distributed generation, including energy storage. Experts across the ecosystem, seeking solutions to prominent challenges in pursuit of a balanced and sustainable energy mix, will have the opportunity to contribute their thoughts in high-level debates with domestic and international peers.
Between now and March, PowerGen International and Distributech International, in partnership with their media partners Power Engineering and PowerGrid International, will launch two new platforms to provide timely and informative content year-round, the PowerGen+ Series and Distributech+ Series. These live series will bring together the energy community through virtual experiences for those looking for perspective and discussion on current and future issues affecting the generation and transmission & distribution markets.
“While we believe in the power of face-to-face events and what they deliver; our focus is on what our customers need now, as well as in the future, and how we can deliver experiences to best meet those needs,” Hanson said. “Our team is talking with our customers and working on a variety of opportunities that will meet the needs of power industry professionals engaged in each of the energy markets we serve. These opportunities include virtual experiences, timely content and educational sessions, peer-to-peer networking, vendor product and service demonstrations, and matchmaking assistance between decision-makers and sellers.”
Given the uncertainties we all face due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this move, and the alignment of PowerGen with Distributech, makes great sense, said Lisa Johnson, CEO of Seminole Electric Cooperative, based in Tampa, Florida.
“I look forward to the broad and robust participation these events are known for across our industry, as well as our discussion centered on ‘Destination 2050,’” Johnson said.
PowerGen has been and continues to be an important event for power producers, said Thomas Reed, project director of the Seminole combined-cycle facility for Seminole Electric Cooperative and a member of the PowerGen International advisory committee.
“I support the decision to move PowerGen to the spring to give ourselves the time we need to properly address the COVID-19 pandemic,” Reed said. “Keeping our employees safe and healthy is critical to our operations and we appreciate that PowerGen recognized this and has adjusted the dates accordingly.”
PowerGen will always be a premier event for the power industry and must be sensitive to the COVID-19 concerns of attendees, speakers and vendors, said Jeffrey Sullivan, senior engineering technologist, Duke Energy, and PowerGen advisory member.
“PowerGen is setting a standard to act responsibly in ensuring the health and safety of the power industry family. The move to spring really helps the industry overcome the conflicts of traveling and participating with still many unknowns and uncertainties through the end of 2020.”
AES supports the decision to move PowerGen to the spring, said Ron Rodrique, Alamitos Energy Center site manager for AES Corp. and also a member of the PowerGen International advisory board.
“This will allow us to continue our steps toward the phased re-entry approach within our businesses and will hopefully allow for better safety measures while traveling and not exposing our people to the current concerns related to COVID-19,” Rodrigue said.
For more information, visit www.powergen.com.
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