The OSGP Alliance, the global non-profit association dedicated to promoting the adoption of the Open Smart Grid Protocol, OSGP, will organise the second Annual Smart Grid Security Summit in Dubai, UAE, a report said.

The event will take place on May 22 at Grand Hyatt Hotel, reported WAM, the Emirates official news agency.

Networked Energy Services Corporations (NES), a global smart grid market leader with industry’s leading Patagonia Energy Applications Platform (EAP), will be the platinum sponsor of the security conference dedicated to utilities, regulators, ministries, consultants, researchers and vendors.

The energy sector is undergoing a rapid transformation with the deployment of smart grids, which enables real-time monitoring, fault detection, isolation and restoration, grid mapping, and automated reading as well as connections and disconnections. Therefore, it is vital to get a deeper insight on the security concerns as grids are a national asset and of critical importance for any country.

The 2017 Smart Grid Security Summit will highlight information on the "threats" to understand the current and the future threat landscape and "approaches" to mitigate threats in the most effective and comprehensive way possible, supported by relevant case studies from the field.

Bo Danielsen, chairman of the OSGP Alliance said, "While we are aware of the multiple benefits of smart grids, now is the time to also focus on the security threats caused by modern communication and information technology doorways. Following an overwhelming response to the first edition of the Smart Grid Security Summit that took place in Poland in September 2016, we felt it appropriate to expand the discussion on security concerns, data leaks and vulnerabilities of smart grids in the ME region."

The conference, he added, will offer the regional entities as well as other stakeholders a deeper insight on how smart grids can help in monitoring and managing the consumption of electricity and water resources for a sustainable future.

Michel Madi, CEO of Middle East, Africa and India, Networked Energy Services Corporation, noted: "The governments in the Middle East and particularly the GCC have launched several initiatives to deploy the latest innovations in a bid to move towards a diversified economy.

“We will throw the spotlight on potential threats that can arise from smart grids and ways to secure them through the latest available solutions. As the MENA region’s fourth largest market with the highest near-term potential for smart grid infrastructure and smart metering solutions as per the ‘Emerging Markets Smart Grid: Outlook 2016,’ the seminar will be of particular significance for the UAE."