The two-day conference will be opened by Vice-President Kroes and Commissioner Oettinger. It will bring together policy makers and stakeholders such as telecom companies, energy providers, regulators and consumer organisations. It will provide a platform for discussing the challenges of deploying smart grids, be they technical, regulatory, financial or linked to public acceptance. The conference will investigate how ICT can make our cities greener by an exchange of best practices. It will also touch upon the important issue of how to deliver transparent metrics around the positive contribution of ICT to solving our energy and climate problems.