London, U.K.— About 150,000 visitors and 2,000 exhibitors are expected in Paris in December to attend Elec 98, the triennial international exhibition of electricity, automation, and related services and applications, according to Promosalons, the show's organizer. The event will be held on Dec. 7-11 in halls 5 and 6 of the Parc de Paris-Nord Villepinte Exhibition Center. One of the oldest shows of its kind, Elec 98 will reach its 40th anniversary this year. Automation and communication networks will be one of Elec 98's primary concentrations. In fact, one quarter of the booked booth area has been assigned to companies trading in that sector. Thanks to command-and-control, supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) and DSM remote control tools that go all the way to the client interface, automation is entering the energy transmission and distribution fields. As a result, automation featured at Elec 98 will include development tools like communication technologies (from fieldbuses to Internet), software technologies (from Windows NT/95/98 to Java), and services (from maintenance to facility management).