Monday, September 14, 2026

1:00 - 5:00

Golf Scramble

5:00 - 6:30

Reception

Tuesday, September 15, 2026

8:00 - 9:00

Check-in and Welcome Breakfast

9:00 - 9:30

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2026

1:00-5:00

Golf Scramble

5:00-6:30

Reception

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2026

9:00 - 9:30
Keynote Fireside Chat -- The New Energy Operating Model: Distributed, Digital, and Dynamic
A strategic view of how decentralization, electrification, and digitalization are reshaping how energy systems are planned, operated, and monetized.

9:30 - 10:30

Executive Plenary Session - Women in Power: Integrating Renewables, Sustainable Energy into the Grid System

• Grid interconnection challenges
• Renewable procurement strategies
• Coordinating regional planning

10:30-11:00 Networking Coffee Break

11:00-12:15
Track A: The Path to a GWP-Free Grid

Explores the transition from high-GWP gases like SF₆ to sustainable, "clean air" alternatives to achieve a climate-neutral power network.
• SF₆ Phase-Out Regulations
• Alternative Interruption Technologies

• Asset Lifecycle Management
• Scalability & Reliability

11:00-12:15

Track B: From DER Visibility to DER Orchestration

Moving beyond monitoring toward real-time control and optimization of distributed energy resources.

• Edge DER control vs. centralized DERMS

• ADMS integration challenges

• Real-time visibility and telemetry

• Standards and interoperability gaps

11:00-12:15

Track C: The Future of BESS: Long-Duration Storage in Hybrid Supply Models

Focuses on how the shift from lithium-ion to long-duration energy storage (LDES) is enabling utilities to bridge multi-day renewable gaps and provide firm, 24/7 carbon-free power.

• Beyond the 4-Hour Wall

• Optimizing the Hybrid Mix

• Data Center & Industrial Firming
• Total Cost of Ownership

12:15-1:15

Lunch

1:15-2:30

Track A: Grid Planning Under Uncertainty: From Forecasts to Scenarios

Discussion of how utilities are shifting from deterministic planning to scenario-based and probabilistic approaches.

• Integrated resource planning evolution

• Hosting capacity analysis at scale

• Scenario-based planning methods

• Climate-aware grid planning

1:15-2:30

Track B: DERMS Is 80% Preparation, 20% Go‑Live: Lessons from 3 Utilities Who’ve Lived It

How Utilities can prepare to implement a live DERMS system

1:15-2:30

Track C: Data Governance in a Distributed Grid

A discussion of how utilities must balance access, privacy, and operational needs.

• Data ownership and access models

• Privacy and security considerations

• Edge analytics vs. centralized processing

• Enabling data sharing across stakeholders

2:30-3:00

Networking Coffee Break

3:00-4:15

Track A: DERMS - From ADMS to the Edge

Use cases enabled by FTM and BTM coordination

3:00-4:15

Track B: The Virtual Power Plant: Scaling DER Participation in Markets

Explores the transition from pilot projects to utility-scale Virtual Power Plants (VPPs), focusing on how aggregated edge resources can provide reliable, dispatchable capacity to wholesale markets.

• Centralized vs. edge-based VPP orchestration

• Aggregation and Orchestration

• Market Integration and FERC 2222
• Dual-Value Stacking
• Real-Time Telemetry and Verification

3:00 –4:15

Track C: Using Your DERMS for Short-Term DER Scenario Planning and Analysis

4:15-5:45

Reception

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2026

Time

Title

Topics

9:00-9:30

Opening Address -- The Digital Grid Era: The Next Phase of Grid Modernization

A forward-looking perspective on how utilities must evolve to meet rising demand and complexity.

• Electrification and load growth

• Infrastructure investment priorities

• Digitalization of grid operations

• Workforce and capability challenges

9:30-10:30

Plenary Sesison -- Regulatory & Policy: Designing Markets for a Distributed Future

A plenary panel on how market structures must evolve to integrate DERs while maintaining reliability and fairness.

• DER participation frameworks

• Market access and barriers

• Pricing signals and incentives

• Aligning policy with system needs

10:30-11:00

Networking Coffee Break

11:00-12:15

Track A: Data Centers as Controllable Loads: How to Craft Flexible Schemes using DERMS

11:00-12:15

Track B: Powering the AI Economy: Data Centers as Grid Assets

How the rapid growth of data centers is reshaping load profiles, planning assumptions, and grid operations.

• Load forecasting under extreme growth

• Onsite generation and hybrid supply models

• Demand response participation

• Cooling optimization and efficiency

11:00-12:15

Track C: Data Center Energy Management: How do Data Centers Respond to Requests for Flexibility?

This session examines how data centers are transitioning from passive energy consumers to active grid partners through advanced power architecture, flexible demand strategies and deploying AI and advanced analytics to improve forecasting, reliability and efficiency.

· Next-Generation Power Distribution

· The Data Center as a Virtual Power Plant

· Hybrid Supply & Onsite Generation

· Thermal Management & Liquid Cooling

· Forecasting with AI

· Outage Prediction and Prevention

12:15-1:15

Lunch

1:15-2:30

Data Centers: Microgrids

2:30 – 3:00

Networking Coffee Break

3:00-4:15

Evolving the Utility Business Model

This panel focuses on how utilities are redefining their roles in a more decentralized, competitive energy landscape.

• Utility vs. platform operator models

• Revenue models in a DER world

• Partnerships with third parties

• Policy and regulatory implications

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2026

9:00-12:00

Site tour of National Laboratory of the Rockies technology demonstration facilities

12:00-1:00

Lunch