Monday, April 20
8:00 - 8:15 AM • Welcome and Introductions
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- Dan Lapato, Chair, CPU Advisory Council; Vice President, Planning, American Gas Association
- Cindy Blume, Director, Center for Public Utilities
8:15 - 10:15 AM • CEO and Industry Leaders Panel - The Future of the Industry
Moderator: Hon. Ann Rendahl, President, NARUC; Commissioner Washington Utilities and Transportation
Speakers:
- Sid McAnnally, AGA Chairman; President and CEO of ONE Gas
- Calvin Butler, EEI Chairman; President and CEO, Exelon
- Dawn Constantin, NGSA Chairman; COO, bp gas & power Americas
10:30 – Noon • CEO and Industry Leaders Panel (continued)
Moderator: Hon. Ann Rendahl, President, NARUC; Commissioner Washington Utilities and Transportation
Speakers:
- Thomas Deitrich, President and CEO, Itron
- Patrick J. Kerr, NAWC Chairman of the Board; President and CEO, Baton Rouge Water Company
- Hon. Tim Schram, Chairman, NARUC Telecommunications; Commissioner Nebraska Public Service Commission
1:30 – 3:00 • All Hands on Deck Utility Coordination: A Reliability Imperative -Are We Aligned to Meet The Needs of This Critical Time and What’s Our Action Plan?
After years of workshops, task forces and other collaboratives working on aligning our gas/electric utilities, telecom and water sectors with real world conditions, where are we? Now more than ever all of our utilities ride in the same space of reliability, infrastructure modernization and concern about costs to consumers. And now with the advent of big data, AI and hyperscaler needs, how are we positioned? On the national security front, will our seemingly endless delays of siting/permitting transmission cause the US to lose the new arms race to own AI. Let's pull back the curtain and see what's happening to actually achieve the alignments necessary to address the real-world concerns.
Moderator: Hon. Maida Coleman, CPU 1st Vice Chairman; Commissioner, Missouri Public Service Commission
Speakers:
- Jim Griffith, CEO, American Water Company
- Jim Kerr, President, Southern Company Gas
- Paul Roberti, Administrator, United States Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration - Invited
- Patrick Smith, President and CEO, Ameren Illinois
- Rusty Williams, CEO, Utilities Technology Council
Responders:
- Hon. Edward Lodge, Commissioner, Idaho Public Utilities Commission
- Hon. Pat O'Connell, Commissioner, New Mexico Public Regulation Commission
- Hon. Eric Skrmetta, Commissioner, Louisiana Public Service Commission
3:30 – 5:00 • The Framework for New Technologies
New technologies can be a critical part of the solution to ensuring reliability and winning the geopolitical struggle around the global AI race. At the same time, there are barriers for adopting new technologies and challenges to deploy new technologies. With a variety of technologies becoming available what is the most efficient way for commissions and utilities to evaluate and ensure the reliability and cost-effectiveness of these technologies that range from small modular reactors to multi-day storage to virtual power plants to advance connectivity to AI adoption? Often there are pilot projects for certain technologies, but what would an effective framework for evaluating and adopting emerging technologies look like? Panelists will discuss ways to evaluate and adopt technologies while still delivering reliability, affordability, and technological innovation to consumers.
Moderator: Hon. John Hammond, Chair, NARUC Committee on Electricity; Commissioner,
Idaho Public Utilities Commission
Speakers:
- Nathan Brownell, Vice President, Resilience and Capital Delivery, CenterPoint Energy
- Shaun Dentice, Chief Revenue Officer, Resource Innovations
- James Richards, Manager, Economics and Project Development, Nuclear Innovation Alliance
- Brian Scriber, Vice President, Security Technologies, CableLabs
- Mark Thompson, Senior Director, State Affairs, Form Energy
- David Zipkin, Chief Product Officer, Tecnosylva
Responders:
- Hon. Katie Anderson, Commissioner, Arkansas Public Service Commission
- Hon. Zenon Christodoulou, Commissioner, New Jersey Board of Public Utilities
- Hon. Gary Hanson, Commissioner, South Dakota Public Utilities Commission
Tuesday, April 21
8:30 – 10:00 • Financial Interests and Financing Issues for Grid/Nuclear
The announcements of needed investments for data centers, AI, power generation, and associated transmission and pipeline infrastructure in the past 12 months alone have been astounding. Where will funds to support the data center and associated power and infrastructure come from? What is needed to move quickly and deploy tens of billions of dollars every year? Can new nuclear be successfully financed to be part of the long-term solutions to growing demand? These valid but competing priorities require regulators to make decisions that impact consumers of all types, the utilities they regulate, and the ability for the United States to continue to be a world leader in technology and manufacturing. In a rapidly evolving energy landscape, the time to sharpen both our pencils and require reality-based data for planning to minimize spending but deliver the desired outcomes is now. This panel will discuss how those concerns and opportunities can be planned for in the short, medium, and long-term as well as how costs can practically be mitigated as these milestones are reached. Hear from Wall Street analysts, private equity investors, consumer advocates, and nuclear energy industry leaders discuss both the “how?” and “how fast?” funds can be deployed to deliver wins for the country as well as ensure consumers and bill impacts are not lost in the tidal wave of capital being deployed to solve an important set of issues.
Moderator: Dena Wiggins, President and CEO, Natural Gas Supply Association
Speakers:
- Bennett Arnett, Senior Director, Nuclear Energy Institute
- Chris Ayers, Executive Director, North Carolina Utilities Commission
- Peter Colussy, Executive Director, West Region Regulatory and Political Affairs, NextEra
- Julien Doumoulin Smith, Equity Analyst, Jefferies
- Arnie Quinn, Senior Vice President, Regulatory Policy, Vistra (pending)
Responders:
- Hon. Eric Blank, Chairman, Colorado Public Service Commission
- Hon. Jenifer French, Chairman, Public Utilities Commissioner of Ohio
- Hon. Dwight Keen, Commissioner, Kansas Corporation Commission
10:30 – Noon • The Race to 100%
Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (“BEAD”) initiative and a variety of state-funded efforts are driving major investments to connect to unserved and underserved locations using a mix of technologies. This panel will examine near- and long-term deployment trends that will shape the broadband industry and its consumers, highlighting how different technologies are being applies across diverse geographies. We will discuss projections for unserved locations that may remain after BEAD projects are complete, and how that influences the ongoing focus on underserved locations. In addition, we will explore the persistent barriers that can delay or increase the cost of deployment, drawing on experiences with real-world builds. Panelists will share lessons learned on matching technology solutions to specific deployment challenges and propose strategies for accelerating future broadband expansion.
Moderator: Hon. Chris Nelson, Vice Chairman, South Dakota Public Utilities Commission
Speakers:
- Rick Cimerman, Vice President External and State Affairs, NCTA
- Kathy Franco, Assistant Vice President, Public Policy, AT&T
- Doug Kinkoph, Associate Administrator, Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth, NTIA
- Bree Maki, Executive Director, Minnesota Office of Broadband Development
- Pamela Sherwood, Vice President, Federal and State Regulatory, Compliance and Broadband Office, Brightspeed
- Jim Stegeman, President and CEO, CostQuest
Responders:
- Hon. Karen Charles, Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Cable
- Hon. Summer Strand, Chairperson, Public Service Commission of Wisconsin
- Hon. Dallas Winslow, Chair, Delaware Public Service Commission
1:30 – 3:00 • Changing Federal Policy Impacts on Resource Adequacy and Investment in Reliability
Changes in administrations often bring changes to the policy landscape but the current change to energy policy is forcing the entire energy value chain to turn on a dime. While never an easy adjustment for industries that plan in decades and not in 2- or 4-year cycles, this is an unusual situation that is happening at the same time as unprecedented load growth and national security concerns around AI and the geopolitical implications in that space. Due to recent federal legislation, the landscape of resource development has changed. These changes seem to shift the focus from large renewable development to more fossil fuel-based resources. This panel will explore reliability challenges through the lens of transmission expansion, impacts of tax credit changes, market reforms, and resource adequacy. Panelists will examine planning tools, cost allocation, and strategies to deliver reliability in the face of uncertain demand trajectories, regulatory changes and long infrastructure lead times as well as implementation of proper standards and operational protocols.
Moderator: Hon. Kim David, Chair, Oklahoma Corporation Commission
Speakers:
- Devin McMackin, Director of Federal Affairs, ITC Holdings, Corp.
- Maurice Moss, Sr. Director, Central Region Markets & Policy, American Clean Power Association
- Brooke Trammell, Vice President, Transmission Strategy & Engagement, FirstEnergy Corp.
Responders:
- Hon. Gabriel Aguilar, Commissioner, New Mexico Public Regulation Commission
- Hon. Tricia Pridemore, Commissioner, Georgia Public Service Commission
- Hon. David Ziegner, Commissioner, Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission
3:30 – 5:00 • Balancing the Bill: Managing Investment, Innovation, and Customer Impact
As utilities across electricity, gas, water, and telecommunications sectors face historic investment needs, regulators are working to balance modernization, reliability, and affordability in an era of rapid demand growth. This discussion explores how commissions and industry leaders are defining affordability, supporting low-income programs, and engaging the public to maintain trust amid rising costs. Panelists will examine effective processes and case studies that align innovation with customer protection, identify tools and resources that improve transparency, and highlight pathways to ensure that modernization advances equitably avoiding unintended consequences while keeping essential services accessible and sustainable.
Moderator: Hon. Jehmal Hudson, Chair, NARUC Energy Resources and the Environment Committee; Commissioner, Virginia State Corporation Commission
Speakers:
- Joseph Daniel, Principal, Rocky Mountain Institute
- Mary Anna Holden, Commissioner Emeritus, NJ Board of Public Utilities
- Michael Santorelli, Director, ACLP at New York Law School
- David Springe, Executive Director, NASUCA
- Kelly A. Tomblin, President and CEO, El Paso Electric Company
Responders:
- Hon. Angie Hatton, Chair, Kentucky Public Service Commission
- Hon Lea Márquez Peterson, Commissioner, Arizona Corporation Commission
- Hon. Floyd McKissick, Chair, NARUC Committee on Consumers and the Public Interest; Commissioner, North Carolina Utilities Commission
Wednesday, April 22
8:30 – 11:00 • Commissioner Grill
Conference participants submit questions to moderators-open to all.
Moderators:
Invited Commissioners for Grill:
Hon. Gabriel Aguilera, NM Public Regulation Commission
Hon. Katie Anderson, Arkansas Public Service Commission
Hon. Michael Bange, New Jersey Board of Public Utilities
Hon. Eric Blank, Colorado Public Utilities Commission
Hon. Karen Charles, Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Cable
Hon. Zenon Christodoulou, New Jersey Board of Public Utilities
Hon. Maida Coleman, Missouri Public Service Commission
Hon. Kim David, Oklahoma Corporation Commission
Hon. Jerry Fenn, Public Service Commission of Utah
Hon. Jenifer French, Public Utility Commission of Ohio
Hon. Ron Gerwatowski, Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission
Hon. John Hammond, Idaho Public Utilities Commission
Hon. Gary Hanson, South Dakota Public Utilities Commission
Hon. Angie Hatton, Kentucky Public Service Commission
Hon. Sheri Haugen Hoffart, North Dakota Public Service Commission
Hon. Jehmal Hudson, Virginia State Corporation Commission
Hon. Dwight Keen, Kansas Corporation Commission
Hon. Edward Lodge, Idaho Public Utilities Commissioner
Hon. Floyd McKissick, North Carolina Utilities Commission
Hon. Chris Nelson, South Dakota Public Utilities Commission
Hon. Greg Niebert, NM Public Regulation Commission
Hon. Patrick O'Connell, NM Public Regulation Commission
Hon. Jeremy Oden, Alabama Public Service Commission
Hon. Gabriella Passidomo, Florida Public Service Commission
Hon. Lea Marquez Peterson, Arizona Corporation Commission
Hon. Delton Powers, South Carolina Public Utilities Commission
Hon. Tricia Pridemore, Georgia Public Service Commission
Hon. Ann Rendahl, Washington Utilities and Transportation
Hon. Mike Robinson, Wyoming Public Service Commission
Hon. Tim Schram, Nebraska Public Service Commission
Hon. Eric Skrmetta, Louisiana Public Service Commisson
Hon. Gabriella Passidomo Smith, Florida Public Service Commission
Hon. Summer Strand, Public Service Commission of Wisconsin
Hon. Doyle Webb, Arkansas Public Service Commission
Hon. Dallas Winslow, Delaware Public Service Commission
Hon. David Ziegner, Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission
