May 2024 was a great month! There are so many reasons why this is true but my favorite is the amazing 49th PLMA Conference. I’m not sure we could have packed any more fun and learning into those four days. 

Itron loves being part of PLMA. As the preeminent conference for peak load management professionals to gather and share knowledge and experience, it always delivers on the social side too. Folks who attend get to see old friends and meet new ones – this is truly the secret of its success – the people! 

It all starts with the Expo – this year’s theme was “The Sneaker Ball.” 

Since we were in Portland, we decided that it might be fun to do things a little differently – no standard company logo table for us. We brought a photo booth to the party!

So many fun pictures - and sneakers! 

And then there was the Sneaker Contest. Who knew utility folks could groove? Well – we sure can! 

After a great night enjoying each other's company, it was time for the working conference. Itron was honored to share the stage with longtime Itron customer, Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), for the first panel session.  

Our panel focused on SMUD’s demand response (DR) story and evolution ranging from one-way paging systems to control loads to their new two-way DR programs that allow them to receive information about the state of their load management in near real-time and act accordingly. It was truly impressive to see what SMUD has achieved over the years and the metrics associated with their programs. Itron is proud to provide the DR technologies for SMUD. They are the best! 

Continuing on our mission to embrace all the weirdness that is Portland, Itron hosted a walking Ghost Tour on Tuesday evening. Our tour guides knew all the spooky secrets hidden in the buildings and alleys and even under the alleys in old Portland. We learned about the history of the city, its early residents and especially about the folks that decided to make Portland their eternal home… We'll talk more about that later…

Our tour ended with everyone enjoying pizza and beer at the most haunted spot in all of Portland – Old Town Pizza & Brewing Haunted Taproom.   

The place is loaded with history, and how could it not be? It is now the only official entry to the Shanghai Tunnels which were opened especially for the bravest among us for private tours. I won’t go into the history of the tunnels here but if you are curious, you can learn more here.  

There is one more very special ghost story attached to Old Town Pizza - the sad, sad story of Nina (pronounced Nigh-na). Her story can be found here and for those of you that might be wondering if any of us experienced anything paranormal, it really depends on if you believe…
 
Hmmmm…now wait…is that Nina in the window? Let us know what you think at plma@itron.com.  

Thanks for following along for our adventures at the 49th PLMA Conference. We can't wait to see everyone in Chicago at the EV Symposium in August!