This topic explores how utilities are upgrading transmission and distribution networks with advanced sensors, communications, automation, and control technologies. 

Grid modernization aims to fortify the distribution and transmission grids through physical infrastructure investments, as well as software, to improve system operability and resilience. This topic covers system hardening, undergrounding, ADMS, AMI, grid-enhancing technologies, and non-wires alternatives. 

Sponsored by:

xylem

Core Concepts Discussed

  • 21st-century grid transformation
  • Modernization roadmaps
  • Future-proofing grid infrastructure
  • Reliability and resilience improvements
  • Integration of distributed energy resources (DERs)
  • Decarbonization and electrification support
  • Two-way power flow management
  • Regulatory drivers and funding (IIJA, IRA)
  • Customer-centric grid design
  • Digital-first utility operations
keynote session

Grid modernization educational opportunities

Loading
8:00 AM
  1. GU106: Navigating the New NERC Compliance Landscape for Computational Loads: A Practical Guide to Project 2026-02 and the CLE Standards
    B218
    240 mins
    Note to program committee: Project 2026-02 is an active NERC standards-development effort, and several milestones referenced here (Board adoption, regulatory approval, threshold finalization, and the …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Rahul Anilkumar
    Rahul Anilkumar, Vice President, Integrated Planning - Danovo Energy Solutions
    Speaker image for Eric John
    Eric John, Sr. Director Transmission Technology Solutions - Danovo Energy Solutions
    Speaker image for Jack Gibfried
    Jack Gibfried, Engineer II - North American Reliability Corporation (NERC)
    Speaker image for Eric Meier
    Eric Meier, Supervisor - Planning Modeling at ERCOT - ERCOT
9:00 AM
  1. Leading Across Generations: The New Reality for Women in Utilities
    B217
    50 mins
    Four generations are sharing the workforce—each bringing different experiences, expectations, and perspectives on leadership. At the same time, women are playing an increasingly influential role in sh …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Dawn Roth-Lindell
    Dawn Roth-Lindell, Former CEO - Seattle City Light
    Speaker image for Katarina Miletijev
    Katarina Miletijev, Manager, Distribution Operations Engineering - Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD)
    Speaker image for Gretchen Stanford
    Gretchen Stanford, Partner & Advisor - Utility 2030 Leadership Collaborative
    Speaker image for Mandip Samra
    Mandip Samra, CEO - Burbank Water & Water
    Speaker image for Caroline Watson
    Caroline Watson, Analyst - Georgia Power Company
    Chairperson
    Speaker image for Vanessa Edmonds
    Vanessa Edmonds, CEO - Utility 2030 Leadership Colllaborative
10:15 AM
  1. $ Utility 2030 The Human Grid Kitchen: A Transformational Leadership Simulation for Grid Modernization
    B310
    390 mins
    Join Utility 2030 (U2030) for The Human Grid Kitchen, an immersive, culinary-themed leadership simulation designed to help utility and technology leaders practice transformational leadership in a safe …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Gretchen Stanford
    Gretchen Stanford, Partner & Advisor - Utility 2030 Leadership Collaborative
    Speaker image for Chris Hilborn
    Chris Hilborn, President - Utility 2030 Leadership Collaborative
    Speaker image for Vanessa Edmonds
    Vanessa Edmonds, CEO - Utility 2030 Leadership Colllaborative
11:00 AM
  1. A Data Modernization Playbook for a Scalable Path to Grid Modernization
    B216
    50 mins
    The New York Power Authority (NYPA), New York’s largest public power utility and a central contributor to the state’s clean‑energy transition, aligned its data strategy with New York State’s statutory …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Ron Carroll
    Ron Carroll, VP Chief Data & AI Officer - New York Power Authority
    Chairperson
    Speaker image for Venkat Banunarayanan
    Venkat Banunarayanan, Vice President, Integrated Grid - National Rural Electric Cooperative Association
  2. Keeping Electricity Affordable – Balancing Reliability, Resilience, and Cost in a High-Growth Era
    B215
    50 mins
    Keeping Electricity Affordable – Balancing Reliability, Resilience, and Cost in a High-Growth Era While there is broad consensus on the critical need for affordable electricity, utilities recognize th …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Vandan Divatia
    Vandan Divatia, VP, Transmission Policy, Interconnections & Compliance - Eversource
    Speaker image for Bill Sones
    Bill Sones, VP - ENTERGY
    Speaker image for Mike Robinson
    Mike Robinson, VP - Georgia Power
    Speaker image for Karen Kinslow
    Karen Kinslow, VP - First Energy
    Speaker image for Mike Beehler
    Mike Beehler, National Spokesperson - Power Delivery Intelligence Initiative
    Chairperson
    Speaker image for Joyce Solomon
    Joyce Solomon, Data Science and Analytics Manager - Southern Company Services
12:00 PM
  1. SEPA Bridging Innovation Workshop Series: Accelerating Grid Innovation Through Collaboration
    B311
    240 mins
    This half-day interactive workshop brings together utility, technology, and solution provider leaders to explore practical strategies for advancing grid flexibility, resilience, and operational intell …
3:00 PM
  1. You Cannot Solve What You Cannot See: Physical AI and the High-Resolution Grid
    B216
    50 mins
    The grid's hardest emerging problems are high-frequency phenomena that the industry has largely been unable to see. Inverter-based resource instability, the volatile load of hyperscale data centers, i …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Kevin Jones
    Kevin Jones, Director, ET Asset Management - Dominion Energy
    Chairperson
    Speaker image for Meghan Calabro
    Meghan Calabro, Vice President, Distribution Modernization - Burns & McDonnell
8:30 AM
  1. Welcome & Industry Keynote Conversation: How Are Utility CEOs Driving the Age of Acceleration?
    Exhibit Hall
    90 mins
    Join us as we kick off DTECH 2027 with our host utility, Southern Company, and presenting sponsor, Itron.   Then, we’ll explore a question that challenges us to think bigger: What does it mean to acce …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Tamla Olivier
    Tamla Olivier, President and Chief Executive Officer - Baltimore Gas & Electric Co.
    Speaker image for Tom Deitrich
    Tom Deitrich, President and CEO - Itron
    Speaker image for Chris Womack
    Chris Womack, Chairman, President and CEO - SOUTHERN COMPANY
    Speaker image for Ed Baine
    Ed Baine, President - Dominion Energy Virginia
    Speaker image for Kim Greene
    Kim Greene, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer - Georgia Power
9:00 AM
  1. From AMI Alarms to Action: Leveraging AI and Grid Edge Data for Predictive Outage Management
    B216
    50 mins
    Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) has long provided utilities with unprecedented visibility into grid conditions through outage notifications and alarm signals. While power outage alarms are wide …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Glenn Pritchard
    Glenn Pritchard, AMI Practice - EPRI
    Chairperson
    Speaker image for Meghan Calabro
    Meghan Calabro, Vice President, Distribution Modernization - Burns & McDonnell
  2. Leading Through Load: Managing Time and Energy When the Grid, the Tech, and the Workforce Are All Under Stress
    B217
    50 mins
    In a world where leaders are asked to operate under constant “grid stress”—from digital transformation to workforce strain to rising customer expectations—resilience is no longer just about time manag …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Marguerite Behringer
    Marguerite Behringer, Director of Regulatory Policy and Industry Relations - Landis+Gyr
    Speaker image for Jody Allison
    Jody Allison, VP of Customer Experience - Xcel Energy
    Speaker image for Funmi Williamson
    Funmi Williamson, CCO & SVP, Customer Service - Southern California Edison
    Speaker image for Tamla Olivier
    Tamla Olivier, President and Chief Executive Officer - Baltimore Gas & Electric Co.
    Speaker image for Cheryl Davis
    Cheryl Davis, Vice President, Customer Solutions - Georgia Power
    Chairperson
    Speaker image for Matthew Boms
    Matthew Boms, Managing Director - Advanced Energy United
  3. ComEd’s Deployment of a PLTE Network to Support Grid Modernization Use-Cases
    B201
    50 mins
    ComEd has invested in advanced communications infrastructure to support clean energy and grid modernization objectives, delivering a high-speed, high-bandwidth, secure, redundant, and resilient networ …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Jayson Shiau
    Jayson Shiau, Section Engineer - ComEd
    Speaker image for Tom Flanagan
    Tom Flanagan, Principal Business Program Manager - ComEd
    Speaker image for Jacqui Bass
    Jacqui Bass, Principal Business Program Manager - ComEd
    Speaker image for Ryan Kelly
    Ryan Kelly, Principal Project Manager - ComEd
    Chairperson
    Speaker image for Bobbi Harris
    Bobbi Harris, Executive Director - UBBA
  4. Regaining Control of IT Advacing into Substations
    B207
    50 mins
    For decades, utility protection and control (P&C) engineers maintained absolute authority over the substation through physical isolation and hardwired copper loops. That era of pure isolation is endin …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Ed Hutchinson
    Ed Hutchinson, Industrial Edge Architect, Global Edge Architecture Team - Red Hat
    Speaker image for Anthony Sivesind
    Anthony Sivesind, Executive Engineering Consultant - Salt River Project
    Chairperson
    Speaker image for Abhiram Vallabhaneni
    Abhiram Vallabhaneni, Lead Grid Operations Engineer - Lansing Board of Water & Light
  5. Automating Solutions Planning for an Increasingly Complex Distribution Planning
    B214
    50 mins
    This session explores how utilities are leveraging automated solutions analysis to scale time-series distribution planning and help planners automatically identify, evaluate, and compare mitigation al …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Benjamin Lee
    Benjamin Lee, Vice President of Distribution Planning and Grid Modernization - Electric Power Engineers
    Speaker image for Julieta Giraldez
    Julieta Giraldez, Director Grid Planning - Electric Power Engineers
    Speaker image for Mohammed Alfayyoumi
    Mohammed Alfayyoumi, Senior Director of Grid Planning - Dominion Energy
    Speaker image for Nery Navarro
    Nery Navarro, Principal Manager of Distribution Planning - Southern California Edison
    Chairperson
    Speaker image for Thomas Artau
    Thomas Artau, Senior Manager of Grid Operations Technology - DUKE ENERGY
  6. Before It Touches the Grid: Duquesne Light Company & PPL Electric on Building a Utility-Led DER Validation Gate
    B212
    50 mins
    Grid modernization spend keeps growing, but the evidence behind it lags. Utilities are putting more DER and large loads on the same feeders, replacing relays, and modernizing control rooms. Most of th …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Abhinav Gupta
    Abhinav Gupta, Principal Consultant - ADMS - WT Partners, LLC
    Speaker image for William Thai
    William Thai, Managing Director - WT Partners
    Speaker image for Sabrina Nguyen
    Sabrina Nguyen, Engineer III - Duquesne Light Company (DLC)
    Speaker image for Matt Wallace
    Matt Wallace, Distribution Control Center Engineering, DER Interoperability Lead - PPL Electric Utilities
    Chairperson
    Speaker image for Marcelo Sandoval
    Marcelo Sandoval, Director, Advanced Grid Solutions - Landis+Gyr
  7. Planning for OT Security in a Post-Quantum World
    B209
    50 mins
    The power industry needs a new set of cyber-security technologies, and soon.  In fifteen years or less, experts predict that quantum computers will be able to break most of the cryptographic mechanism …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Stephen Trachian
    Stephen Trachian, Senior OT Cybersecurity Consultant - Hitachi Energy
    Speaker image for Herbert Falk
    Herbert Falk, Managing Director - Outside the Box Consulting Services, LLC
    Speaker image for Andrew West
    Andrew West, SCADA Communication and OT Cybersecurity Consultant - Integral / DNP-UG
    Speaker image for John Malaver
    John Malaver, Engineering Manager, Protection Control Metering & Telecom - National Grid
    Speaker image for Grant Gilchrist
    Grant Gilchrist, Systems Engineer, Grid Modernization - TESCO Automation
    Chairperson
    Speaker image for Ronald Farquharson
    Ronald Farquharson, President and COO - Mount Victoria Consulting / DNP-UG
  8. Shaping Energy at the Edge: How Hydro Ottawa leverages AI and Residential DERs for Localized Grid Flexibility
    B218
    50 mins
    As rapid electrification accelerates, utilities face unprecedented demands on distribution assets—specifically at the feeder and secondary transformer level. Traditionally, these increases in peak loa …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Sydney Atkinson
    Sydney Atkinson, Energy Conservation Engineer - Hydro Ottawa
    Speaker image for Shawn Carr
    Shawn Carr, Director, Energy Transition, Customer Strategy & Innovation - Hydro Ottawa
    Chairperson
    Speaker image for Andres Carvallo
    Andres Carvallo, CEO - 512CMG (CMG Consulting LLC)
10:00 AM
  1. DERMS Implementation: Creating Agile Solutions for a Shifting Regulatory Landscape
    B213
    50 mins
    As utilities scale distributed energy resource programs, DERMS implementations are increasingly shaped by evolving regulatory requirements, overlapping use cases, and compressed delivery timelines. Th …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Kyle Comstock
    Kyle Comstock, Senior Vice President, Grid Modernization - Mosaic
    Speaker image for Chad Nickell
    Chad Nickell, Senior Director of Grid Transformation - Xcel Energy
    Chairperson
    Speaker image for Shelly Barczak
    Shelly Barczak - Exelon
  2. Duquesne Light Company: Moving Grid Planning from Spreadsheets to Clicks
    B216
    50 mins
    At Duquesne Light Company (DLC), serving more than 600,000 customers across an 812 square‑mile territory in Pennsylvania, we reached a point where grid planning work was being slowed by manual data ex …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for John Sala
    John Sala, Senior IT Manager, Metering & IoT Solutions - Duquesne Light Company
    Chairperson
    Speaker image for Meghan Calabro
    Meghan Calabro, Vice President, Distribution Modernization - Burns & McDonnell
  3. Modernizing Distribution System Planning: Integrating DERs, Forecasting, and Non-Wires Alternatives for a Flexible Grid
    B212
    50 mins
    Power Distribution systems are evolving rapidly as electrification, data‑center growth, and widespread DER adoption reshape both the scale, temporal and locational patterns of demand. Traditional dist …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Shaun Moran
    Shaun Moran, Co-Founder and Principal - GridCo Group
    Speaker image for Monish Mukherjee
    Monish Mukherjee, Research Engineer - Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
    Speaker image for Morgan Noon
    Morgan Noon, Sr. Manager, Capacity Planning - ComEd
    Speaker image for Zachary D Pollock
    Zachary D Pollock, Director of Integrated Electric Distribution and Gas Planning - Xcel Energy
    Speaker image for Erik Lee
    Erik Lee, Principal Distribution Planning Modeling & Tools Engineer - Avista
    Chairperson
    Speaker image for Venkat Banunarayanan
    Venkat Banunarayanan, Vice President, Integrated Grid - National Rural Electric Cooperative Association
11:00 AM
  1. Proven and Replicable: Validating a DER Distribution Value Framework
    B211
    50 mins
    As load growth from electrification and AI data centers is driving increasing strain on secondary distribution infrastructure up to the bulk system, utilities need managed charging solutions they can …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Hannah Merriam
    Hannah Merriam, Principal Consultant - E Source (recently acquired Opinion Dynamics)
    Speaker image for Rick Hodges
    Rick Hodges, Principal Technical Program Manager - Grid Edge Engineering - PORTLAND GENERAL ELECTRIC
    Speaker image for Madeleine Farrington
    Madeleine Farrington, Market Development, Senior Associate - WeaveGrid
    Speaker image for Nick Scaramuzzino
    Nick Scaramuzzino, Clean Energy Specialist - Orange & Rockland Utilities
    Chairperson
    Speaker image for Anurag Kamal
    Anurag Kamal, Co-founder and CEO - ElectricFish Energy Inc.
  2. From Estimation to Observation: Using Continuous Point-on-Wave Technology to Reveal Real-Time System Strength, Regional Inertia, and other Critical Grid Conditions
    B214
    50 mins
    The rapid evolution of electric power systems—driven by inverter-based resources, distributed generation, large synchronized computational loads, and increasingly dynamic operating conditions—has expo …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Richard Kirby
    Richard Kirby, Senior Engineer - Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc.
    Speaker image for Joseph Dubeau
    Joseph Dubeau, Principal Engineer Grid Transformation & Integration Design & Standards - Florida Power & Light Company
    Speaker image for Hamed Valizadeh
    Hamed Valizadeh, Principal Technical Lead - Southern California Edison
    Speaker image for Patrick Gravois
    Patrick Gravois, Lead Operations Engineer - ERCOT
    Speaker image for Ken Aramaki
    Ken Aramaki, Director of Integrated Grid Planning - Hawaiian Electric
    Chairperson
    Speaker image for Eric Charette
    Eric Charette, Director of Advisory Services - Qualus
  3. Distribution Planning Challenges on the Integration of DERs in Low-Voltage Secondary Network Systems
    B213
    50 mins
    As electrification, distributed energy resources (DERs), energy storage, and microgrids continue to grow, utilities are facing new challenges in modernizing underground (UG) network systems originally …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Noel Rivera Jr
    Noel Rivera Jr, Senior Director - Danovo Energy Solutions
    Chairperson
    Speaker image for Shelly Barczak
    Shelly Barczak - Exelon
1:00 PM
  1. From Data to Decisions: Intelligent Insights for Modern Asset Management
    B201
    50 mins
    As utilities address aging infrastructure, increasing grid complexity, and rising DER penetration, asset management is evolving toward more intelligent, data-driven approaches. This session brings tog …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Oliver Howarth
    Oliver Howarth, Solutions Architect, IT – Utility Technologies - Public Service Enterprise Group
    Speaker image for Tom Bialek, Ph. D.
    Tom Bialek, Ph. D., Chief Technology Officer - Toumetis
    Speaker image for Ann Moore
    Ann Moore, Global Industry Principal - Power & Utilities - AVEVA
    Speaker image for Nico Payne, PE
    Nico Payne, PE, Power Quality Supervisor – System Protection Engineering - San Diego Gas & Electric
    Speaker image for Pragna Pulusani
    Pragna Pulusani, Principal Engineer, Asset Strategy - Public Service Electric and Gas
    Chairperson
    Speaker image for Lukasz Kubas
    Lukasz Kubas - PSEG
2:00 PM
  1. Unblocking the Interconnection Queue: Lessons from Con Edison’s Pilot on Pre-Application Intelligence for DER Developers
    B209
    50 mins
    New York State’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) set out goals to have 70% of the state’s electricity generated by renewable energy by 2030 and 100% zero-emissions electricity …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Brittany Proctor
    Brittany Proctor, Clean Energy Project Lead - Con Edison
    Speaker image for Valentín Rigoni
    Valentín Rigoni, Principal, Grid Innovation - Kevala
    Speaker image for Catie Budri
    Catie Budri, Director of Product - Kevala
    Chairperson
    Speaker image for Aaron Zaug
    Aaron Zaug, Sr Manager Electric Distribution Control & Grid Operations - City of Fort Collins Light & Power
8:00 AM
  1. Keynote: How Will the Data Center Boom Define the Evolution of the Grid?
    Exhibit Hall
    60 mins
    The conversation around data centers is everywhere, but as massive AI developments move from planning to construction, that conversation is becoming a reality—fast. As demand for computing power grows …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Kevin O'Leary
    Kevin O'Leary, Entrepreneur, investor and star of ABC’s Shark Tank
9:00 AM
  1. “Can Utilities Build Fast Enough? Rethinking Substation Modernization for the New Load Growth Era”
    B214
    50 mins
    As utilities race to connect unprecedented load growth from AI, data centers, electrification, and industrial reshoring, a new bottleneck is emerging across the industry: Substations. Utilities are in …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Carl Toner
    Carl Toner, Digital Transformation Manager, Substations - SOUTHERN COMPANY
    Speaker image for Rory Billing
    Rory Billing, Head of Power - Transcend Infrastructure
    Speaker image for Marit Lyngbaek
    Marit Lyngbaek, Strategic Relationship Principal - National Grid
    Speaker image for Troy Anatra
    Troy Anatra, Director, Innovation - National Grid
    Chairperson
    Speaker image for Brian Walsh
    Brian Walsh, Executive Consultant - Beacon LLC
  2. Enhancing Customer Engagement Through AI-Enabled Image Reporting
    B215
    50 mins
    During outage events, customers often have valuable real-time information about field conditions, yet utilities have traditionally relied on phone calls and manually reviewed reports to understand wha …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Keith Hemingway
    Keith Hemingway, Head, Emerging Technology, Alectra GRE&T Centre - Alectra Utilities
    Speaker image for Ali Syed
    Ali Syed, Director, System Control - Alectra Utilities
    Chairperson
    Speaker image for Jonathan Stewart
    Jonathan Stewart, Vice President, Utility Market Development, North America - Hitachi Energy
  3. Vulnerability Management for Grid IEDs at LCRA to support NERC CIP Compliance and advanced OT Cybersecurity
    B209
    50 mins
    Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) is focused on expanding their patching of all devices beyond those that are required to be updated under CIP-007 R2.  With the expanded population of equipment re …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Derek Burns
    Derek Burns, SOCC Systems Compliance Program Manager & Supervisor SubWAN Group - LOWER COLORADO RIVER AUTHORITY
    Speaker image for Anthony Eshpeter
    Anthony Eshpeter, Chief Technology Officer - SUBNET Solutions Inc.
    Chairperson
    Speaker image for Ameen Hamdon
    Ameen Hamdon, President and CEO - SUBNET Solutions Inc.
  4. Ground-Level Operation of Underground Networks: How CELESC Broke the Barrier That Prevented the Expansion of Underground Networks in Brazil – Santa Catarina
    B216
    50 mins
    CELESC (Centrais Elétricas de Santa Catarina S.A.) is the Brazilian electric power distribution utility responsible for serving almost the entire territory of the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil. It s …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Felipe Cassias Pereira
    Felipe Cassias Pereira, Project and Construction Manager at CELESC Santa Catarina - Celesc Distribuição
    Speaker image for Alexandre Ohara
    Alexandre Ohara, Application Director - S&C Electric Company
    Chairperson
    Speaker image for Venkat Banunarayanan
    Venkat Banunarayanan, Vice President, Integrated Grid - National Rural Electric Cooperative Association
  5. Connecting the Grid: Leveraging Utility Communications for Analytics and AI to Improve Reliability
    B202
    50 mins
    Utilities generate massive amounts of operational data, but the greatest value comes from connecting that data into a complete decision-making ecosystem. This panel will explore how modern wired (fibe …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Brandon Lundy
    Brandon Lundy, Director of AMI/MDM Management Systems - SOUTHERN COMPANY
    Speaker image for Elizabeth Cook
    Elizabeth Cook
    Speaker image for Shane Powell
    Shane Powell, Director of Power Delivery Analytics - SOUTHERN COMPANY
    Chairperson
    Speaker image for Bobbi Harris
    Bobbi Harris, Executive Director - UBBA
10:00 AM
  1. A Nation at Risk: Forging a Cross-Sector Alliance to Confront the Power Industry's Workforce Crisis
    B217
    50 mins
    The ongoing workforce crisis in the U.S. energy sector has reached a critical inflection point, threatening our nation's economic growth and technological future. The demand for skilled labor is being …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Brent Barbee
    Brent Barbee, Executive Vice President & CFO - Richmond Community College
    Speaker image for Christian Lopez
    Christian Lopez, Director- Engineering - AES
    Speaker image for Ahmad Ababneh
    Ahmad Ababneh, Senior Vice President of Transmission & Substation - ComEd
    Speaker image for Aaron Smith
    Aaron Smith, Director - Distributed Device Strategy & Distribution Planning - Omaha Public Power District (OPPD)
    Speaker image for Jason Greer
    Jason Greer
    Speaker image for Vik Trehan
    Vik Trehan, Vice President, TS&O - Southern California Edison
    Speaker image for Morteza Talebi
    Morteza Talebi, VP Workforce - POWERX
    Chairperson
    Speaker image for Maurice Kimsey II
    Maurice Kimsey II, Program Manager Distribution Automation Strategy - Omaha Public Power District
  2. From Weeks to Hours: Faster Answers for Large-Load Interconnection Studies
    B213
    50 mins
    Large-load and data-center interconnection requests are surging, and the studies that tell developers where the grid can absorb new load have become the bottleneck. At Dominion Energy, a full-area hos …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Nathan Rice
    Nathan Rice, Supervisor of Electric Transmission Strategic Initiatives - Dominion Energy
    Speaker image for Brian Bassett
    Brian Bassett, Director - Simple Thread
    Chairperson
    Speaker image for Zhenyu (Henry) Huang
    Zhenyu (Henry) Huang, Division Director/Argonne Distinguished Fellow - Argonne National Laboratory
11:00 AM
  1. Sandbox + Lab Environments for OT: De-Risking ADMS and DERMS Deployment
    B214
    50 mins
    Operational Technology applications like ADMS and DERMS sit at the heart of modern grid operations, yet deploying or upgrading them directly in production carries significant risk to reliability, safe …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Syed Qaseem Ali
    Syed Qaseem Ali, Manager & Principal Advisor System Integration - Danovo Energy Solutions
    Speaker image for Zach Nelson
    Zach Nelson, Manager - DERMS Programs - Georgia Power Company
    Speaker image for Michael Wilkie
    Michael Wilkie, Sr. Technical Engineering Specialist - DER Engineering - ComEd
    Speaker image for Sam Villalobos
    Sam Villalobos, Principal Engineer - Distribution Integration - Salt River Project
    Chairperson
    Speaker image for Eric Charette
    Eric Charette, Director of Advisory Services - Qualus
  2. T-Flex MVP – Accelerating Transmission Interconnection Through Flexibility
    B213
    50 mins
    For the T-Flex initiative, PG&E is focused on delivering an initial Minimum Viable Product (MVP) that improves transmission interconnection speed-to-power through enhanced system monitoring, automatio …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Alex Collins
    Alex Collins, Manager - PG&E
    Chairperson
    Speaker image for Junhui Zhao
    Junhui Zhao, Director of Data Science & Analytics - AVANGRID
  3. From Deployment to Impact: How Tampa Electric Is Accelerating Private Network Value
    B202
    50 mins
    Forward-looking utilities are upgrading their connectivity and taking control of it. As grid complexity accelerates, the performance of the communications network is becoming as critical as the grid i …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Ross Spero
    Ross Spero, Chief Product Officer - Anterix
    Speaker image for Dana Jaber
    Dana Jaber, VP Sales and General Manager - Ericsson
    Chairperson
    Speaker image for Koustuv Ghoshal
    Koustuv Ghoshal, Vice President & Head of Utilities | Energy - Ericsson, Inc.
  4. Large-Scale Predictive Analytics at Oncor
    B216
    50 mins
    This presentation introduces Oncor’s enterprise data analytics platform and highlights several predictive analytics use cases developed for Operations. These capabilities are rooted in the large-scale …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Yannan Sun
    Yannan Sun, Manager, Operational Analytics - Oncor Electric Delivery
    Chairperson
    Speaker image for Marcelo Sandoval
    Marcelo Sandoval, Director, Advanced Grid Solutions - Landis+Gyr
  5. Operational Readiness for DERMS
    B201
    50 mins
    As utilities accelerate the integration of distributed energy resources (DERs), Distributed Energy Resource Management Systems (DERMS) are becoming a foundational capability for enabling visibility, c …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Dimitrije Kotur
    Dimitrije Kotur, Consultant, Grid Modernization - Mosaic
    Speaker image for Arijana Bratic
    Arijana Bratic, Director, Grid Modernization - Mosaic
1:00 PM
  1. Breaking Down the Affordability Mandate: Internal Innovation, External Advocacy, and Regulatory Trust
    B209
    50 mins
    As the energy transition accelerates and capital expenditures rise, the industry is facing significant challenges when it comes to balancing necessary grid modernization with ratepayer affordability. …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Mike Beehler
    Mike Beehler, National Spokesperson - Power Delivery Intelligence Initiative
    Speaker image for Cleve Fann
    Cleve Fann, SVP - Georgia Power
    Speaker image for Luke Wollin
    Luke Wollin, SVP - Ameren
    Speaker image for Mark Carpenter
    Mark Carpenter, Sr. Vice President of Transmission & Distribution Operations - Oncor
    Speaker image for Jodi Santos
    Jodi Santos, SVP Operations Support - NiSource
    Chairperson
    Speaker image for Larry Gasteiger
    Larry Gasteiger, Executive Director - WIRES
  2. Evergy Residential Battery Pilot - Small Project, Big Integration
    B218
    50 mins
    Starting in 2022, Evergy initiated a Residential Battery Energy Storage (RBES) Pilot through its Missouri rate case to evaluate both customer savings and distribution system benefits of behind-the-met …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Christian Winingar
    Christian Winingar, Distribution Engineer - Burns and McDonnell
    Speaker image for Tianling Wu
    Tianling Wu, Principal Engineer - Evergy
    Speaker image for Josh Stegman
    Josh Stegman, Sr Mgr Grid Technology - Evergy
    Chairperson
    Speaker image for Kellee Christensen P.E.
    Kellee Christensen P.E., Director of Strategic Planning and Development - Lansing Board of Water & Light
2:00 PM
  1. JPS Hurricane Response and Recovery
    B212
    50 mins
    Jamaica Public Service (JPS) is a privately owned, vertically integrated electric utility company (generation, transmission and distribution), and the sole distributor of electricity in the island of …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Lincoy Small
    Lincoy Small, Director, System Operations - Jamaica Public Service Company
    Chairperson
    Speaker image for Keyra Pulliam
    Keyra Pulliam, Engineer III T&S Engineering Standards - Exelon Corporation
3:00 PM
  1. AI Driven Protection Coordination at Scale: How PPL Assessed 1,400 Feeders in Under Eight Hours
    B214
    50 mins
    PPL Pennsylvania's protection engineering team manages coordination across 80,000+ protective devices — spanning reclosers, circuit breakers, and fuses — across a continuously evolving distribution gr …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for German Dresl
    German Dresl, Associate Director - Accenture
    Speaker image for Elizabeth Moreno
    Elizabeth Moreno, Managing Director - Accenture
    Speaker image for James Conrad
    James Conrad, Grid Operations Business Lead - PPL
    Speaker image for Piyush Saxena
    Piyush Saxena, Field and Grid AI Lead - Field and Grid AI Product Owner
    Chairperson
    Speaker image for Julio Romero Aguero
    Julio Romero Aguero, Sr. Vice President, Strategy and Business Innovation - Danovo Energy Solutions
  2. Extending Grid Visibility with AMI: Detecting Momentary Outages from Non-SCADA Reclosers
    B213
    50 mins
    While often overlooked, momentary outages can serve as a positive indicator of grid performance—signaling that protective devices successfully isolated faults and prevented longer, sustained interrupt …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Will Gifford
    Will Gifford, Director of Data Science - E Source
    Speaker image for David Boyd
    David Boyd, Manager, Data Analytics - Southern Company / Power Delivery
    Chairperson
    Speaker image for Renata Bakousseva
    Renata Bakousseva, Manager, Microgrid Design and Delivery - Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E)
  3. From a Spreadsheet to 55,000 Conductors: The Engineering Journey Behind Dominion Energy's Line Risk Intelligence Pipeline
    B204
    50 mins
    For a large transmission system, the processing power required to reconstruct the thermal history of tens of thousands of conductors isn't a software problem. It's an engineering problem at a scale ut …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Tanner Cullifer
    Tanner Cullifer, Senior Engineer - Dominion Energy
    Speaker image for Ethan Gueck
    Ethan Gueck, Data Scientist - Data Society
    Chairperson
    Speaker image for John McDonald
    John McDonald, Founder & CEO - JDM Associates, LLC
8:00 AM
  1. GU303: Making Transformation Visible: How EA and Change Management Turn Strategy into Execution
    B204
    240 mins
    Enterprise Architecture (EA) is one of the most misunderstood disciplines in business, often mistaken for designing buildings rather than shaping digital infrastructure, data flows, and how work actua …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Blake Politte
    Blake Politte, Sr. Advisor, Enterprise Architecture - Southern California Edison
    Speaker image for Neil Placer
    Neil Placer, Director, Utility Services Consulting - EnerNeX
10:00 AM
  1. From Fault Detection to Synchro-Waveform Analytics: PacifiCorp’s Experience Scaling Line Sensor Intelligence Across a Six-State Territory
    B216
    50 mins
    As electric distribution systems become increasingly complex, utilities require greater visibility beyond traditional data sources such as substation breakers and mid-line reclosers. Wide-area line se …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Joe Grappe
    Joe Grappe, Senior Application Engineer, Power System Analytics - Sentient Energy
    Speaker image for Ryan Anthon
    Ryan Anthon, Director, Grid Modernization - PacifiCorp
    Chairperson
    Speaker image for Eric Charette
    Eric Charette, Director of Advisory Services - Qualus
11:00 AM
  1. Integrated Planning for Load Growth: Quantifying the Transmission Value of Distirbuted Storage
    B214
    50 mins
    As electric load growth accelerates due to large data center interconnections and generation retirements, utilities face increasing pressure to deliver transmission upgrades that often require years t …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Carlo Brancucci
    Carlo Brancucci, CEO - encoord
    Speaker image for Madeleine Balchan
    Madeleine Balchan, Program Manager - GridLab
    Speaker image for Wallace Kenyon
    Wallace Kenyon, Chief Product Officer - encoord
    Chairperson
    Speaker image for Troy Miller
    Troy Miller, Executive Sales Director - GE Vernova
  2. Real-Time Load Transfer Studies Using ADMS
    B207
    50 mins
    Hydro One implemented a Real-Time Load Transfer Study (RTLTS) capability within its Schneider Electric EcoStruxture Advanced Distribution Management System (ADMS) to modernize outage response and impr …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Nikola Mijatovic
    Nikola Mijatovic, Tx/Dx Operating Tools Officer - Hydro One Networks Inc.
    Speaker image for Omar Mohamed
    Omar Mohamed, Sr. Manager, Grid Operations - Hydro One Networks Inc.
    Chairperson
    Speaker image for Rob Boone
    Rob Boone, Manager, Grid Modernization - Nova Scotia Power
  3. Operationalizing Grid Enhancing Technologies: PGE’s Experience with Dynamic Line Ratings and Advanced Conductors
    B216
    50 mins
    Abstract The continued growth in residential, commercial and industrial electricity demand is placing increased pressure on existing transmission infrastructure and accelerating the need for innovativ …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Sanman Rokade
    Sanman Rokade, Manager, Grid Operations Transmission Engineering - PORTLAND GENERAL ELECTRIC
    Chairperson
    Speaker image for Zhenyu (Henry) Huang
    Zhenyu (Henry) Huang, Division Director/Argonne Distinguished Fellow - Argonne National Laboratory
1:00 PM
  1. Utility Communications as a Service: Delivering Mission-Critical Networks Through Managed and Hosted Models
    B202
    50 mins
    As utilities deploy private LTE, fiber, and hybrid communications networks to support modern grid applications, the complexity of designing, operating, and maintaining these systems continues to grow. …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for Joe Walsh
    Joe Walsh, CEO - Heddian
    Speaker image for Bryan Rask
    Bryan Rask, Manager of Network Engineering - Avista
    Speaker image for Rob Butts
    Rob Butts, Professional Communications Market Manager - L3 Harris
    Speaker image for Justin McCann
    Justin McCann, VP of Engineering - West Kentucky Rural Electric Cooperative
    Chairperson
    Speaker image for Brian Huey
    Brian Huey, Global Sales Manager – IoT (Utilities, Energy, Industry) - AT&T
2:00 PM
  1. From VPP Pilots to Enterprise Capability: How Utilities Can Build a Decision Framework for Scale
    B216
    50 mins
    The next frontier for virtual power plants is not proving that distributed energy resources can respond to a dispatch signal. Many utilities have already done that. The harder question is how to insti …
    Speakers
    Speaker image for James Walsh
    James Walsh, Senior Marketing Manager - West Monroe
    Speaker image for Rebecca Postowski
    Rebecca Postowski, Principal Policy Analyst - Exelon
    Speaker image for Alyssa Ramirez
    Alyssa Ramirez, Principal, Energy & Utilities - West Monroe
    Chairperson
    Speaker image for Shelly Barczak
    Shelly Barczak - Exelon
4:00 PM
  1. Closing Panel Discussion: What’s Now & What’s Next: Defining the Shared Energy Roadmap in 2027 and Beyond
    B312-B314
    60 mins
    To cap off a full day of cross-industry dialogue, this closing session brings together summit leaders to synthesize the core takeaways, breakthroughs, and immediate action items established across the …

 

Other Grid Modernization News

Visit Our Official Media Partner, Factor This, for more Grid Modernization News

Transforming public trust into an operating asset for utilities with Greg Cornett

Greg Cornett, President of Rhode Island Energy, has written about and talked about affordability challenges at events like DTECH Northeast, underscoring the importance of the topic across the sector.
Oct 12, 2026
Read More (opens in a new tab)

Budgeting, staffing, and scaling modern SCADA with John McDonald

John McDonald breaks down how SCADA system information, functionality, and secure networks are used to support advanced electric utility applications
Oct 07, 2026
Read More (opens in a new tab)

Bridging legacy SCADA and next-gen grid infrastructure with John McDonald

The adoption of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) to monitor and control grid processes in real-time was an important step in the evolution of the grid.
Oct 07, 2026
Read More (opens in a new tab)

Unlocking grid capacity through dynamic distribution with Switched Source CEO Charles Murray

On the latest episode of the Factor This Podcast, we caught up with Switched Source CEO Charles Murray to discuss how utilities should think about their resilience strategy when heavy capital hardware upgrades are no longer a standalone fix.
Oct 05, 2026
Read More (opens in a new tab)