Lodging

A block of rooms has been reserved at Hotel Fifty in Portland for our Fall meeting. Hotel Fifty (www.hotelfifty.com) is located at 50 SW Morrison St. just a few blocks from the World Trade Center Conference Center at Portland General Electric’s offices. We have secured a rate of $119.00 a night for the 6th and 7th. The reservation block is available until September 6th, so please book early. A VERY LIMITED number of rooms (5) are available for the night of the 8th at that rate due to the Portland Marathon festivities starting that Friday. Room rates for the weekend will escalate significantly. For reservations, call the hotel at (503) 221-0711 and refer to the "ALCA Block" or use this link, https://gc.synxis.com/rez.aspx?Hotel=19502&Chain=5334&arrive=10/5/2010&depart=10/8/2010&adult=1&child=0&group=ALCA.

Draft Program Agenda

[Update 07/08/2010]
We have put together a draft agenda for this meeting. You will notice a few "open" slots within the agenda. If you have a presentation or an idea for a topic/speaker, contact Bill Jackson at (503) 928-7404 or wjackson@paragonconsultingservices.com.

Travel Directions

From the Portland International Airport (PDX), take the Tri-Met MAX Light Rail Red Line train to the SW 3rd and Morrison stop, and then walk east (toward the waterfront) 1½ blocks to Hotel Fifty [see directions]. The fare is $2.30 from PDX to SW 3rd and Morrison stop. For planning for train times, visit www.trimet.org. Trains run approximately every fifteen minutes.

For those wishing to take a cab from PDX to Hotel Fifty, Portland Taxi at www.portlandtaxi.net or (503) 256-5400 states the fare is approximately $25.00 each way. Portland Shuttle Service at 877-778-5811, or www.portlandshuttles.com, also charges $25.00 each way.

Car rental is available at PDX but attendees should be informed that self-parking at Hotel Fifty is at a rate of $20.00 per day; valet is $25.00 per day.

Hotel 50 Guests

Meeting: From Hotel Fifty start out South (right out of the front of the hotel) traveling on Naito Parkway. Go two blocks. On your right will be the glass entrance way to Building Two of the World Trade Conference Center at 121 SW Salmon [see directions]. Once in the building, follow the ALCA signs to our meeting room.

Hilton Guests

Those attending the AESP Fall Conference at the Hilton and wishing to remain at that facility should negotiate directly with the hotel for the extended stay (6th and 7th). If remaining at the Hilton, here are the directions to the reception and meeting.

Reception: Out of the hotel, turn left or north and go to three blocks to SW Morrison. Turn right or east toward the water, walk five blocks to Hotel Fifty on your right [see directions].

Meeting: Out of the Hilton, walk east toward the waterfront on SW Salmon for 5 blocks. Building Two of the World Trade Conference Center at 121 SW Salmon will be on your left and once in the building, follow the ALCA signs to our meeting room [see directions].

Congratulations and many thanks to Pacific Gas & Electric for hosting the very successful 14th bi-annual spring ALCA meeting. Visit the Library for a rundown of the meeting and to view the agenda.

So now it’s time to start planning for the 15th bi-annual fall ALCA meeting to be hosted in Portland, Oregon by Portland General Electric. Laura Rooke and her team are working with Paragon Consulting to plan a meeting to meet your wants and needs – so we need your input!

The meeting dates are October 6th – 8th, 2010 and we are planning just a little twist on our normal schedule. We are considering starting the meeting at 1:00pm on Wednesday, October 6th followed by the Welcome Reception (to be hosted by Akuacom); continuing with an all-day meeting on Thursday, October 7th and dinner hosted by Paul Notti and his team at Honeywell Utility Solutions. We will then conclude the meeting with a half-day schedule on Friday, October 8th, 2010.

One additional change is that we will extend the time periods scheduled for each presentation to allow additional time for discussion and networking, which was a request of those attending the previous meeting.

A lodging site has not yet been selected, but we are working on identifying a location close to the World Trade Center’s Conference Center in Building 2 at 121 SW Salmon Street in downtown Portland. A rental car is really not necessary as parking can be expensive and besides, Portland is a beautiful place to walk. Also the MAX runs from the airport PDX and has a stop at Pioneer Square, which is close to where we are negotiating for lodging.

Just for your consideration, if you are looking to provide added value to your trip and perhaps greater justification for travel, AESP is hosting their Fall Conference in Portland, October 4th – 6th at the Hilton.

Agenda Item Update: Here’s a list of suggested topics – feel free to weigh in with your opinions:

• “How to Grow a DR program?” Review of unique and innovative marketing strategies
• How DR programs are being used beyond the standard “emergency” resource.
• Integrating DR into Smart Grid projects, Home Energy Management Systems, Informational displays and other communication-based devices.
• New technologies
• Changes in DR Measurement protocols and definitions/protocols for DR in the new world
• Customer behavioral studies regarding DR or load control programs
• Other marketing topics related to recruitment, retention and re-acquisition
• Standards and Protocols that allow DR to transcend just a single utility needs
• Additional Renewable Resource Load Following Examples
• PJM’s experiences with Dynamic Rates as DR Tools

If you have a case study or interesting issues that you would like to share with the ALCA membership, just let us know. Remember, you can always submit papers or studies for posting to the Library Archive on this website as well by emailing them to Bill Jackson.