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International Workshop: Cross-Border T&D Delivery: Overcoming Supply Chains, Permitting, and Market Friction
* Pre-Registration Required *
As electrification, data center growth, and rapid DER adoption strain global transmission and distribution networks, utilities face increasing pressure to expand infrastructure while managing capital costs and rate payer affordability. These challenges aren’t specific to a given region or utility, which is why delivering next-generation grid capacity requires balancing physical high-voltage construction with advanced digital modeling and flexible demand orchestration.
Unlocking this next phase of grid transformation requires exploring which international strategies can be immediately adapted and enabled to relieve capacity pressure, which regulatory or market barriers limit cross-border replication, and how forward-thinking utilities balance extracting hidden capacity from existing assets with committing capital to multi-year physical expansions. These shared global challenges can utilize cross-border frameworks versus localized solutions to define what it means to drive affordability and reliability across the entire energy sector.
This interactive workshop brings together international utility leaders, system operators, EPC firms, and technology innovators to share field-tested frameworks for modern T&D project execution and network planning. Through real-world case studies, participants will examine how utilities across North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region are leveraging digital grid models to unlock hidden capacity, accelerate interconnections, and de-risk major capital programs.
Workshop Schedule:
1:00 pm - 1:05 pm| Welcome
1:05 pm - 1:50 pm | Session: More details coming soon!
Check back regularly for updates, including session topics, speakers, and additional information.
1:50 pm - 2:00 pm | Networking Break Recharge, connect, and discover!
Enjoy this time to take a break and build meaningful connections in a relaxed atmosphere.
2:00 pm - 2:30 pm | Unlocking Hidden Grid Capacity: Leveraging Data-Driven Planning to Control Infrastructure Costs
As electrification and distributed energy resources continue to reshape distribution systems, utilities face mounting pressure to expand infrastructure while maintaining affordable rates for consumers. One of the largest drivers of rising costs is premature or overly conservative grid investment resulting from limited visibility into actual network capacity.
In this session, FairNetz, a German distribution utility, will present how it has improved grid transparency and strengthened data-driven planning to unlock additional capacity within existing infrastructure. By integrating operational data from multiple systems into a validated digital grid model, FairNetz implemented automated grid analysis and time-series simulations to better understand feeder behavior under growing load and DER penetration. This approach not only enables more accurate scenario-based planning, but allows the utility to identify previously unused capacity, accelerate interconnection evaluations, and prioritize upgrades based on quantified system risk. Combined with improved orchestration of distributed resources and flexible demand, these capabilities allow FairNetz to accommodate load growth while optimizing network planning decisions and delaying unnecessary infrastructure expansion. The session will demonstrate how automation, time-series modeling, forward looking planning, and better utilization of existing grid infrastructure can help utilities manage electrification while controlling long-term energy costs.
2:30 pm - 3:00 pm | Session: More details coming soon!
Check back regularly for updates, including session topics, speakers, and additional information.
3:00 pm - 3:15 pm | Networking Break Recharge, connect, and discover!
Enjoy this time to take a break and build meaningful connections in a relaxed atmosphere.
3:15 pm - 3:45 pm | Session: More details coming soon!
Check back regularly for updates, including session topics, speakers, and additional information.
3:45 pm - 4:15 pm | Cross-Border Collaborations in 2027 and Beyond
The workshop concludes with an interactive discussion that brings together utility leaders and technology innovators to summarize key lessons and identify practical actions attendees can take back to their organizations. Participants will leave with actionable strategies to support upcoming engineering and planning efforts while continuing conversations throughout DTECH and beyond.
4:15 PM | Workshop Concludes