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Building Connections – Igniting Change!
May 18 – May 20, 2026 · WASHINGTON, DC
Tackling the toughest 21st-century energy challenges affecting our Grid, Growth, and Globe. Attend and ensure you’re not just reacting to this new world — you’re shaping it.
When: Beginning with lunch on May 18 and ending with lunch on May 20, 2026.
Where: JW Marriott, 1331 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC
Registration Is Now Open!
The Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) is excited to host the third annual Energy Evolution Summit 2026.
This exclusive forum is specifically curated for industry executives that are in the position to evoke significant change and drive the power sector’s transformation.
The conversations will be open, candid, and forward-looking to challenge the power industry to explore critical strategies and build alliances essential to a new and innovative clean energy future. Attendees will engage in strategic, high-level dialogues that go beyond typical conference presentations.
Join utility, technology, finance, and government leaders at this premier event to ignite fresh ideas and develop groundbreaking solutions. Don’t just attend—become a driving force in the dynamic conversations shaping the future and secure your seat among the visionaries leading the charge!
Agenda
Designed with Intention
Our agenda is intentionally designed with interactive sessions focused on deep, actionable solutions, challenging you to test new ideas and workshop strategies with fellow top executives.
The program blends these solutions with real-time, unparalleled insights on policy, regulation, and volatile markets. This is the critical big-picture view and the trusted network you need to act decisively – the premier venue to connect with the ultimate power players essential for your next paradigm-shifting idea.
Conference Format Highlights
Dynamic Session Types:
- Power Shots (5 min): High-energy bursts of focused insight
- Quick Notes (10 min): Mini-keynotes delivering one transformative message
- Keynotes (20-30 min): Anchor talks that set direction and frame key themes
- Panels (40-45 min): Focused conversations surfacing real tensions and experiences
- Fireside Chats (20 min): Intimate interview-style sessions
- Lightning Labs (30 min): Fast-paced, highly interactive exchanges
- Innovation Spotlights (TED-Style): Rapid-fire case studies
- Power Closes (25 min): Daily interactive round-ups with polls and real-time engagement
Interactive Elements:
- Daily flash polls and audience participation
- Structured networking moments
- Breakout deep-dives with practical implementation focus
Note: Some elements of this agenda may adjust based on speaker availability
Agenda
DAY 1: GRID — Stress, Resilience, AI-Era Planning: Monday, May 18
12:00 PM – 1:15 PM | Welcome Lunch
1:15 PM – 5:30 PM | EES26 Programming
- Keynote: Energy Evolution: Why This Room Matters — Framing the Grid, Growth, and Globe themes and exploring why this moment demands unprecedented collaboration across the energy ecosystem
- Power Shot: Why I Keep Coming Back to EES
- Panel: Grid Resilience in an Age of Extremes — Federal, IOU, and cooperative leaders on responding to extreme weather and rising customer expectations
- Quick Note: The AI Boom and the Bottom Line — Managing explosive AI-driven load growth while maintaining reliability and affordability
- Panel: Different Models, Shared Mission — What investor-owned utilities, municipals, and cooperatives can learn from each other
- TED-Style Innovation Spotlights Case Studies:
- Grid-enhancing technologies
- DER orchestration
- Breakthrough technology solutions
- Quick Note: If You Only Change One Thing This Year….
- Day 1 Power Close — Interactive round-up of grid challenges and emerging solutions
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM | Opening Reception at Hotel Washington rooftop
DAY 2: GROWTH — Capital, Customers, and New Business Models: Tuesday, May 19
7:30 AM – 8:45 AM | Breakfast
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM | EES26 Programming
- Quick Note: How to Decode Market Signals for the Energy Transition and Next Generation of Growth
- Affordability Panel: Paying for a 25% Demand Surge — Financing massive infrastructure expansion without breaking customer budgets
- Quick Note: The Failure That Made Us Better — A candid reflection on setbacks and how strategic mistakes became catalysts for transformation
- Panel: Resilient Grids in Fire Country — Integrating wildfire detection and response systems to maintain affordable, reliable power in high-risk regions
- Panel: Affording AI: Preparing for the Financial Demands of AI and Data Centers — Exploring how regulators and utilities balance the growing needs of data centers with existing customer needs
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM | Lunch
1:00 PM – 5:00 PM | EES26 Programming
- Breakout Sessions: Parallel deep-dive tracks
- Maximizing the Existing Grid in a Data-Driven World
- Wildfire Resilience Without Breaking the Bank
- Affordability Strategies for AI and Data Centers
- Fireside Chat: Nuclear’s Second Act in the Energy Evolution
- Lightning Lab: Business Models Under Pressure — A fast-paced exchange among IOU, cooperative, municipal, and hyperscaler leaders on the biggest business model shifts needed
- Day 2 Power Close — Interactive round-up of growth challenges and opportunities
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM | Power Player Awards Dinner
DAY 3: GLOBE — Global Context, Domestic Choices, and Commitments: Wednesday, May 20
8:30 AM – 9:15 AM | Breakfast
9:15 AM – 12:30 PM | EES26 Programming
- Quick Talk: Lessons Learned from Portugal
- Keynote: Global Signals for a Connected Grid
- Panel: What Travels: Global Energy Lessons You Can Actually Import — which international energy innovations actually work in U.S. regulatory and market contexts
- TED-Style Innovation Spotlights Case Studies:
- Cross-Border Grids and Geopolitics
- Virtual Power Plants and their international integration
- How Norway uses EVs and electrification to manage load growth
- Day 3 Power Close & Conference Wrap-Up
12:30 PM | Conference Concludes, light lunch available
About the Energy Evolution Summit
Energy Evolution Summit is the only forum where the full energy ecosystem comes together to share the ideas that will shape policy and secure the future of the power sector.
At this critical moment, as AI and electrification drive unprecedented grid demand—projected to surge 25% by the end of the decade—the answers for a clean, affordable, and resilient future start with the executive-level, peer-to-peer problem-solving that only happens here.
This May, steps from the White House in Washington D.C., executives and experts will participate in three days of engaging discussion and interactive discovery, exploring our defining and interconnected challenges:
- Grid. Making our grid resilient in the face of extreme weather and wildfires, coupled with new technologies.
- Growth. Managing the dawn of data centers’ unprecedented demand needs alongside the drive toward electrification.
- Globe. Sharing lessons learned by leaders who have successfully approached these challenges around the globe.
The Summit is built for connection, hosting the conversations that convert regional insights and international wins into industry-wide solutions. It is the one time each year when utility executives, regulators, consumer advocates, and tech innovators gather in the same space to go on the record with bold ideas and spark the light bulb moments that move us forward.
During the Summit, we will also host the Power Player Awards, honoring the individuals and organizations driving the industry forward. This year’s awards specifically recognize leadership in four key areas: Grid, Growth, Globe, and the Excellence in Leadership award.
