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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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.