HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT POWER AND ENERGY SOCIETY

(FORMERLY THE CONNECTICUT COGENERATION SOCIETY)

In 1985 with the advent of deregulation of the electric utilities Clifford Forster, a Northeast Utilities employee was responsible for the development of independent power within Northeast Utilities.  Subsequently, Cliff met with a number of people in the energy field where it was determined that there could be a need for an organization focusing on independent power. A meeting was held with Ernest Gardow, Phd, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Hartford ; George Ritter, CEO of Independent Energy Corporation and 10 others to discuss the possibility of starting up a group.

Several organizational meetings were held and invitations sent out to interested parties to join the group.  The first meeting had an attendance of 13 people!  Soon word got out that the group was attempting to put together a non-partisan organization for the purpose of establishing a forum for promoting a greater public understanding of the benefits of cogeneration, small power production and alternative energy technologies.  From the first meeting of the 13 members the membership quickly grew to 175 in 1989.

In 1989 the then Connecticut Cogeneration Society hosted a joint conference in Hartford, CT with the American Cogeneration Association (headquartered in Washington, D.C.), New England Cogeneration Association, (now the Northeast Energy and Commerce Association - “NECA”) and the Tri-State Cogeneration Association from southern Connecticut .   This was the first of many successful conferences to follow over the years.  Now in its 13^th year the Society has successfully teamed with NECA for an annual energy conference – the “New England Energy Conference and Exposition” that alternates between Massachusetts and Connecticut venues.

In 1996 The name of the Society was changed to the Connecticut Power and Energy Society to further recognize and include all forms of energy; utility and independently produced.  It has continued to attract a prestigious cross-section group of followers in the energy industry.

(Submitted by Arlene Hiller)