A THREE-man team from the St. Vincent Electricity Services Limited (VINLEC) who participated in an international Transmission and Distribution-related conference in Texas, USA late January, was confident in the benefits they were able to glean from the high-level forum.

The VINLEC team, represented by Manager- Engineering Dr. Vaughn Lewis, Information Network Supervisor , Mark Moses and Assistant Engineer, Chaz Williams was among 600 Companies represented at the 2020 DISTRIBUTECH International Conference in San Antonio, Texas, who assembled to network, share knowledge and problem solve with worldwide utilities and product and service providers, a release from VINLEC said.

DISTRIBUTECH International is a Transmission and Distribution (T& D) related conference that examined the technologies used to move electricity from the power plant through the T& D distribution systems to the meter and inside the home. The conference and exhibition offered information, products and services related to electricity delivery automation and control systems, energy efficiency, demand response, renewable energy integration, advanced metering, T& D system operation and reliability, communications technologies, cyber security and more. Dr. Lewis, the Conference and Exhibition provided numerous opportunities for learning trough the Conference sessions as well as visits to numerous vendors where they examined a wide range of T& D applications that are Information Technology based. Among these were communication systems and drone services. He noted that one of the areas of interest for VINLEC was Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) as this is a system that will be utilised by the Company in the short term. AMI is an integrated system of smart meters, communications networks, and data management systems that enables two-way communication between utilities and customers.

Moses, who described the event as relevant and timely, said the conference provided an avenue through which he was able to gain knowledge from exhibitors and other participants that would not be easily acquired elsewhere.

Assistant Engineer,Williams, meanwhile said that his experience at the event was satisfying. He said the team attended a session that provided an overview of the steps required to successfully implement AMI and that it gave valuable insight into lessons learned and advice on how to prevent common oversights.

The event comprized 11 timely and relevant topical tracks designed to keep the experience of the participants productive.

Among these were tracks on: Asset Management, Customer Strategies and Technologies, Cybersecurity and Incident Response, Distribution Automation, Energy Storage, and Enterprise Grid Management.

It was held at the Henry B.González Convention Center, from January 27 – 30.