Agenda

Gain the knowledge and tools necessary to conduct thorough incident investigations, including overseeing effective root cause analyses. Truly understanding the underlying causes of workplace incidents creates the foundation for implementing corrective actions that prevent future occurrences. Walk through what to do and expect in the entire investigation process, from initial response and data collection to analysis, reporting, and follow-up. Learn the latest suite of incident investigation techniques and root cause analysis methods and review tools for data collection and documentation.

A public power utility’s distribution system is its most visible and valuable asset. It is essential to business success and connected to every customer. In addition to delivering energy safely, affordably, and reliably to a traditional electrical load base, today’s distribution system must be robust in its capacity and resilience to support an increasingly electrified economy. This includes connection points and capacity for large data center loads, throughput for distributed energy resources, and infrastructure for communications and information management systems.

Imagine planning a trip without choosing a destination, mapping an itinerary, or deciding who you’ll travel with. Many of us approach our careers this way — hoping things will work out without ever taking the wheel. This is your invitation to stop wandering and start steering — not just for yourself, but for the teams you lead and influence. Learn how to begin to take ownership of your career and individual leadership development, while also learning how to cultivate accountability, foster a growth mindset, and empower others on your team.

Battery energy storage systems, or BESS, are transforming how utilities manage reliability, resilience, and capacity. Get a comprehensive overview of BESS applications and strategies, including practical use cases and examples from public power. Explore how storage can be deployed for multiple objectives — from improving distribution reliability to supporting bulk supply services — while learning about emerging technologies and safety considerations.

Kick off the conference with this opportunity to network and build lasting relationships in this relaxed setting. Enjoy music, food, and drinks while connecting with friends and colleagues. 

RP3 designees and Safety Award honorees can get their photos taken.

Visit with peers and chat with conference sponsors at this informal breakfast.  

Meet with other first-time attendees, get tips on making the most of your conference experience, and forge lasting connections that will fuel your success throughout the event.

Join us for a run-down of the latest regulatory agenda at the Environmental Protection Agency, including recent developments affecting public power environmental programs and operations, from power plant air emission requirements to wastewater discharges, permitting, and solid waste disposal.

Discover what’s driving system outages at utilities across the U.S. and where your utility’s reliability indices compare to public power benchmarks as reported in the PowerTRX Reliability platform (formerly eReliability Tracker). Dive into where the data shows mitigation strategies are working, from vegetation management to contact with wildlife, and what other practices can help your utility understand and improve its reliability track record.

As the landscape for EV charging infrastructure continues to evolve, utilities and commercial customers have changing considerations for load, cost, and other grid impacts. Follow the latest trends in Level 3 DC fast chargers, including how this infrastructure is affecting load growth and electric rates. Review strategies for right-sizing transformers with EV load and considerations for optimizing EV infrastructure builds, whether utility-owned or commercial installations.

Community growth brings economic opportunities but also new risks for utilities. Explore how T&D planners can manage line extension policies, capacity constraints, power supply costs, and rate design to ensure growth benefits both the utility and its customers. Review how growth has affected utility capacity and reliability in different regions and how public power is leveraging distributed generation to manage some growth.

Learn how utilities are deploying energy storage to address reliability, manage peak load, and integrate renewables. Review the use and business cases for storage, including how these assets can support peak shaving or energy arbitrage and if there are opportunities to stack value for these assets. Get a rundown on the latest economics surrounding energy storage, including the market outlook and what to look for when bidding for storage assets.

Explore practical and emerging use cases for artificial intelligence across your operations. Discuss how to effectively use AI tools for enhanced forecasting, grid optimization, and more. Learn what it takes to set up and train AI to deliver accurate results and what controls to implement to reduce risk to your utility and customers.

The national conversation around fossil fuels is shifting — and utilities are adapting in real time. From maintaining coal generation to navigating new natural gas facility development, the industry faces evolving challenges. Discuss how utility leaders are responding to changing policy, market pressures, and reliability demands. 

Learn how utilities and regulators are using artificial intelligence to manage increasingly complex compliance requirements. Review potential use cases including automating data collection, enabling real-time monitoring, and developing predictive analytics with AI. Discuss how to integrate AI tools into your workflows to reduce manual workload, support decision making, and helping you keep pace with evolving environmental regulations.

With the future of FEMA uncertain, reimbursement and federal declarations are waning. Hear from utilities and a member of the FEMA review council how you can increase your utility’s chances of getting reimbursed and what you should consider in reserve funding in the current climate. Walk through a reimbursement template to check if your practices align with the latest requirements and expectations.

Learn how to leverage distributed energy resources in your community to help combat rising costs and distribution and transmission constraints. Hear from utilities that have implemented distributed energy resource management systems to gather their advice for a smooth deployment, including tips for effectively engaging customers in programs. Discuss what a virtual power plant concept could do for your system and considerations for effectively aggregating DER in your area. 

As critical infrastructure projects continue to be delayed by long lead times and material shortages, utilities also face uncertainty from global markets – affecting the cost and feasibility of major efforts. Explore the various procurement strategies, considerations with domestic versus foreign manufacturing, inventory optimization methods, and other ways your peer utilities are building resilience into their supply chains.

Ready for liftoff? Celebrate Huntsville’s rich legacy of space exploration and innovation while networking with peers, enjoying cosmic-inspired food and drinks, and winding down in an atmosphere that’s truly out of this world.

Ignite empowering connections as you join a vibrant gathering of women in public power, fostering engaging conversations that unravel shared challenges, embrace exciting opportunities, and propel our industry forward.

RP3 designees and Safety Award honorees can get their photos taken.

Power up with coffee and connections at this informal breakfast. Visit with your peers and chat with sponsors.

Join us for a dynamic panel discussion featuring three distinguished public power CEOs as they share their insights on the most pressing issues facing our industry today. From the critical importance of safety and workforce development to navigating evolving regulatory landscapes and advancing grid reliability, hear candid perspectives on how their organizations are adapting and innovating to meet the needs of their communities. Learn about the strategic priorities shaping public power’s future and gain inspiration and actionable ideas to take back to your utility.

For utilities with aging equipment and infrastructure, digital asset tracking is vital. Learn how utilities use asset management systems to enhance data insight, transform maintenance programs, enhance reliability, and extend the life of critical T&D assets. Review how asset management software can add value to your operations and what utilities recommend for smooth implementation.

Interest in nuclear energy is gaining as a means to facilitate meeting the increasing energy demand from large loads, including data centers, but turning that interest into reality remains a challenge. Learn what public power entities are doing to bring nuclear projects across the finish line and where the latest advanced nuclear projects stand in terms of technical readiness, supply chain, and public opinion.

When disaster strikes, you need to be ready with the knowledge and tools to respond and get your community back on its feet. Preparedness all starts with a robust emergency management plan. Review what elements should be in your plan, how often you should review it, and who needs to be familiar with the plan and how to familiarize the team to it. Also learn about how to engage with the Public Power Mutual Aid Network to effectively request and offer help when a storm hits.

Discover how real-time monitoring of distribution transformers and feeders is affecting grid reliability and customer trust. Dive into utility case studies that show how improved visibility leads to smarter decisions, better outage response, and readiness for DER integration. See how public power uses various operational technologies to monitor their systems and what utilities should expect on the horizon for monitoring assets including substations and feeders.

Take a break and enjoy lunch in the Public Power NextTech Expo with our sponsors.

Learn how utilities are getting the most from their AMI deployments, especially in providing efficiencies in operations. Walk through how several utilities have integrated AMI with other operations technology and software to optimize distribution planning, gain insight into usage patterns and other business intelligence, and structure rates and programs accordingly. Review common concerns and considerations in integrations to help smooth your utility’s efforts.

The headlines keep coming about data centers driving massive, sudden load growth and upward rate pressure, along with statements about the predictions being overblown. Hear directly from utility executives about what it takes to deliver reliable electricity to these facilities — including infrastructure requirements and grid planning complexities — and what data center customers are looking for in a utility partner. Gain lessons from recent developments about the on-the-ground realities of infrastructure, load flexibility, contracts, and forecasts.

As discussions of utility resource mixes become more charged, public power leaders must learn how to convey technical concepts into relatable terms. Learn how other public power communities have made talking about power supply and resource adequacy digestible to the policy makers, customers, and other decision makers in their communities. Get strategies for how to frame utility messages alongside community goals and explain technical challenges in an accessible way.

With new behind-the-meter solar and storage across the grid come new challenges in hosting capacity, maintaining power quality, and managing reverse power flows. Review the latest technical strategies and practices for modeling and monitoring these assets, and what it takes to successfully integrate solar + storage into a local system. Also discuss which incentives and engagement tactics are effective in bringing customers on board.

Utilities are under increasing pressure to expand and adjust their power supply while ensuring long-term reliability. As dispatchable fossil fuel plants are retired, many are exploring alternative fuel options. As the economic challenges of hydrogen and other clean fuels have increased, other non-fossil alternatives, including biomass and waste-derived fuels, are getting increased attention. Explore how to find out which options might be available in your region and discuss the costs, implications, and trade-offs to be aware of with these viable fuel sources.

Extreme weather events are stressing grid reliability and exposing vulnerabilities. Examine engineering strategies for grid hardening, wildfire mitigation, flood protection, storm resilience, and more for your transmission and distribution systems. Learn what steps utilities in regions with high risk for extreme events have taken to bolster their infrastructure and get insights into the latest engineering design standards and technologies that can help your planning.

The value behind a grid modernization project goes well beyond the price tag, to how these investments support reliability, operational efficiency, customer engagement, and more. Learn practical strategies for building business cases for your projects that showcase the full potential value of the project alongside the cost. Review how to translate technical risk into business terms and learn best practices for structuring costs, capturing savings, and securing funding for grid modernization efforts.

If you’re planning or building a new operations center (or hoping to in the near future), then it is important to be familiar with a new slate of construction, technology, and operational improvements. Review the  considerations necessary for designing a new system operations center, from integrating the latest operational technology, security features, and strategies for construction and commissioning. Discuss how to design a facility that will meet your operational needs for today and allow for adaptability for what the future might bring.

Get together with friends and associates before exploring Sacramento’s downtown charm, lively farm-to-table restaurants, and award-winning brewery scene.

Known for his former life as con man, check forger, and impostor between the ages of 15 and 21, Frank Abagnale’s story inspired the Academy Award-nominated feature film, Catch Me If You Can. Abagnale’s unique expertise and first-hand experience now focus on a life of service and his contributions to the world of cybersecurity are immeasurable. The FBI and more than 14,000 financial institutions, corporations, and government agencies utilize his fraud prevention programs. And although most of his work is with the U.S. government, he refuses to be paid for it.