Free entry for Asian Utility Week

The organiser of this year’s Asian Utility Week at Impact Exhibition Centre has waived the visitor entry fee for the first time.
The May 24-25 event has been running for 18 years in Southeast Asia, and is expected to attract more than 3,000 participants from across Asia’s leading utilities, independent power producers, large energy users and vendor groups.
“Every year we adjust our programme to reflect the changes in the wider market. We know customers are looking for something future-facing, as most people attend expos to learn about what’s next and to meet people who can help them achieve their goals,” the organisers said in a statement. 
“This year we return to Bangkok which is the R&D [research and development] headquarters for SE Asia’s utility sector. We have dramatically changed our approach to tickets. With the exception of the premium leadership stream (premium tracks), this is a free event. We anticipate this will dramatically increase our participation numbers.”
This year all the track theatres are on the expo floor. This means that there will always be a crowd circulating around expo stands, which means more customers to meet and more business to be transacted. It also means the show will have more energy – a buzz that adds to the excitement around the event’s digital themes. 
There will be four main tracks following a distinct theme flowing across both days of the event, which is expected to help create more meaningful content for visitors. In general terms, day one concerns “building the operating system”and day two concerns “creating more customer value’. 
The streams are:
Mobile field operations: enterprise mobility solutions, field service management, geographic information system innovations, and drones.
Smart grid and digital metres: digital metres, diagnostic and statistical manuals, the Internet of Things and the connected world.
Digital utility transformation: data analytics, customer service and digital channels.
Large energy users: Distributed generation integration, commercial and industrial buyers, change leadership and new services.
There will be three additional features that focus on highlighting innovations in technology. They are:
Initiate startups: 30 exciting smart energy and smart water startups.
The innovation zone: R&D insights from the region’s top energy and water technology researchers.
The technical zone: New product insights from the world’s leading technology vendors.
2017 focus: meeting the needs of the self-service customer.