About ETS

Energy Thought Summit

:thought_balloon::rainbow::bulb:Join the 11th Energy Thought Summit (ETS) in Austin, TX, from April 15-18, 2024, as we embrace the theme of “Imagine.” Reflect on the industry’s past achievements, while anticipating the limitless opportunities that lie ahead. Immerse yourself in the collective wisdom of industry pioneers, thought leaders, and visionaries, inspiring you to push the boundaries of what is possible and shape a future powered by clean, accessible energy sources at the Energy Thought Summit

4

Days of Thought Leadership and Executive Networking

Imagine

Discussion panels featuring utility executives and other subject matter experts


Dream

Curated agenda exploring Decarbonization, Resilience, Equity, Analysis and Modernization


Create

Engaging workshops during the first day of the event

Thought Leaders

Woody Rickerson

SVP & Chief Operating Officer
ERCOT

Deanna Rodriguez

President & CEO
ENTERGY

Rudy Garza

President & Chief Executive Officer
CPS Energy

Cengizhan Yenerim

ENGIE Global Energy Management & Sales
VP/Head of Risk
ENGIE

Dr. Vanessa Z. Chan

SPECIAL GUEST
Chief Commercialization Officer for the Department of Energy
Director of the Office of Technology Transitions

Paul Lau

TLOY 2021
CEO & General Manager
SMUD

Michael Pesin

Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Grid Systems and Components Division
DOE Office of Electricity

Sandeep Aujla

Director of Fire Science and Climate Adaptation
SDG&E

Nancy Bui-Thompson

Board Director
SMUD

John D. Hewa

CEO
Rappahannock Electric Cooperative

Emeka Anyanwu

TLOY 2022
CEO
Lincoln Electric System

Ann Delenela

Vice President & Chief Information Security Officer
Entergy

Alejandro Moreno

Associate Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. DOE

Mark Dowd

Director, Zero Emission Vehicle Fleets
White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)

Stuart Nachmias

President & CEO
ConEd Transmission, Inc

Kristen Senechal

EVP Transmission
LCRA

Evan O’Mahoney

Chief Information Officer
CPS Energy

Hank Stafford

Senior Director Sustainability Strategy
Vistra Corp

Lora Anguay

Chief Zero Carbon Officer
SMUD

Matt Valle

President
NextEra Energy Transmission

Janisse Quiñones

SVP Electric Operations
PG&E

Lydia Krefta

Director, Clean Energy Transportation
PG&E

Jim Reid

EVP, Sustainability and Chief Legal Office
Fortis Inc.

Vanessa Edmonds

Executive Director
Utility 2030

Liz John

Managing Director
SPEER

Robert Matthews

Vice President, Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer
Exelon Corporation

Duanne Andrade

Executive Director
Solar and Energy Loan Fund

Tracy Alexander

Director of Innovation
NRG Energy

Chad Horton

Vice President Development
AES

Sunny Elebua

Chief Strategy & Sustainability Officer
Exelon Corporation

Darren Schauer

GM and CEO
GVEC

Janie Gonzalez

Board Chair
CPS Energy

John Miri

President & CEO
Electric Grid Cybersecurity Alliance

Valerie Williams

Sr. Manager, Voice of the Customer Programs
Liberty

John Camilleri

General Manager of Operational Technologies
PSC North America

James Conlin

Product Manager
Sharper Shape

Rob Hartway

Sr. Director of Digital Solutions
Honeywell Smart Energy and Thermal Solutions

Daniella Piper

EVP and Chief Innovation Officer
New York Power Authority

Dr. Joe Nyangon

Deputy Director for Partnerships
U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of State and Community Energy Programs

Joan Effinger

COO
Encolor

Bob Kahn

General Manager
Austin Energy

Balvinder Blah-Deonarine

Project Manager
Con Edison Transmission, Inc.

Dr. Patricia De Lange

Lead New Products and Services Development
Duquesne Light Company

Laura Patiño

Chief Resilience Officer
City of San Antonio

Guy Payne

Assistant General Manager
Distribution & Engineering Service, Snohomish Public Utility District

John Padalino

Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel
Bandera Electric

Tyler Rogers

Head of Business Development
Kraken Technologies

Daniel Dus

Founder
CIR

Brandy Bolden

Chief Customer Officer
SMUD

Utibe Bassey

Vice President of Customer Experience
Dominion Energy

Khalil Shalabi

Executive Vice President, Strategic Initiatives and Transformation
Lower Colorado River Authority

Cameron Freberg

Utility Strategist - Electric Vehicles & Emerging Technologies
Austin Energy

Ali Mohammed

Sr Director of the Digital Innovation and Transformation Office
NYPA

Ryan Gerbrandt

Chief Operating Officer
Anterix

Tatianna Cannon

Executive Director
Solar Austin

Carlos Nouel

VP, Transformation Programs
National Grid

Eric Dresselhuys

CEO
ESS inc.

Adrian Rodriguez

President, Texas & New Mexico
Xcel Energy

Shaun Hoyte

Section Manager of Clean Energy Networks
Con Edison

Jason Rodriguez

CEO & Co-Founder
Zpryme

Mary Palmer

Director of Energy Equity and Inclusion
Smart Electric Power Alliance

Peter Muhoro

Chief Strategy, Technology & Innovation Officer
REC

Angel Lance

Founder and CEO
Motive Power

Damali Rhett Harding

US Managing Principal
The Regulatory Assistance Project

Lorraine Akiba

President & CEO
LHA Ventures

Amy Atchley

Sr. Lead, EV Equity Program
Austin Energy

Josh Gould

Director of Innovation
Duquesne Light Company

Erin Hardick

Producer and Researcher
Latitude Media

Karl Popham

Chair of the Electric Vehicle Leadership Council
Founder | Mobility+Energy Consulting LLC

Dan Forman

CEO
Copper Labs

Alice Jackson

SVP System Strategy & Chief Planning Officer
Xcel Energy

Janet Rehberg

Chief Strategy Officer & VP of Engineering
Tri-County Electric

Angela Ortiz

PSEG
Director ESG & Sustainability

Katie Guice

Director of Business Strategy
Tampa Electric

Terron Hill

Clean Energy Development Director
National Grid

Nathan Fulmer

Vice President, Workforce & Safety Operations
Pedernales Electric Cooperative

Ryan Kiley

Executive Director
Consumers Energy

Philip Nevels

Director of Strategy
AES

Venkat Tirupati

Sr. Director of Grid and Market Solutions
Ercot

Joel Austin

Sr. Vice President & Chief Digital Officer
Oncor Electric Delivery

Richard Ramirez

Head Of Innovation, & Technology Corporate Social Responsibility
DTE Energy

Heather Herndon-Wright

Director, Supply Chain Diversity & Sustainability
Vistra

Jen Szaro

President and CEO
AESP

Raiford Smith

Chief Utility Innovation Officer
AES

David Wade

President & CEO
EPB

Adam Barsky

EVP & CFO
NYPA

Erica Borggren

Vice-President, Customer Solutions
ComEd

Hala Ballouz

President
Electric Power Engineers
Previous Lineup

Agenda

April 15

9:00am-5:00pm | NREL Energy Techup


10:30am-11:45am | Workshop 1


10:30am-11:45am | Workshop 2


11:45-1:00pm | Lunch


1:00pm-1:15pm | Welcome to ETS


1:15 – 1:30 PM | Opening Keynote

  • Hala Ballouz, President & CEO, EPE

1:30 – 2:15 PM | Analysis Panel | Customer Service: Balancing Convenience, Data Quality, and the Human Element


2:15pm-2:45pm | Resilience Fireside Chat | Proactively Building Resilient Infrastructure

  • Alice Jackson, SVP Strategy & Chief Planning Officer, Xcel Energy
  • Emeka Anyanwu, CEO, Lincoln Electric System

2:45pm-3:00pm | 🤝 Networking Break


3:00pm-3:45pm | Equity Panel | Individualizing Customer Programs


3:45pm-4:15pm | Decarbonization Fireside Chat | Fleet Electrification


4:15pm – 5:00pm | Modernization Panel | Financing Grid Transformation


5:00pm-5:05pm | Closing

April 16

7:00am-9:00am | Breakfast and Networking


9:00 am-9:15am | Welcome


9:15am-9:30am | Keynote

Bob Khan, Austin Energy, GM


9:30am – 9:45am | Opening Keynote

Daniella Piper, EVP and Chief Innovation Officer, New York Power Authority.


9:45 am – 10:30 am | Equity Panel | Addressing the Energy Burden for Underserved Populations

  • Tatianna Cannon, Executive Director, Solar Austin
  • Anissa Rodriguez Dickerman, CEO, Pecan Street

10:30am – 11:00 am | 🤝 Networking Break


11:00am – 11:45am | Breakout A (Analysis) | Prioritizing Analytics Investments

This session will focus on how to discern between the multitude of analytics solutions available today in order to determine where the best investments are to address a given utility’s needs

11:00am – 11:45am | Breakout A (Decarbonization) | Expanding EV Programs

This discussion will entail a litany of exciting EV programs across the country as well as ideas about how to take them further.

  • Lydia Krefta, Director, Clean Energy Transportation, PG&E
  • Jen Szaro, President & CEO, AESP (moderator)

11:00am – 11:45am | Breakout A (Resillience) | Decentralizing Resilience

A conversation about how decentralization of grid assets can make the grid more resilient, as well as how climate is driving decentralization.

  • Sandeep Aujla, Director of Fire Science and Climate Adaptation, SDG&E

11:45 am -1:15 pm | Lunch


1:15 pm – 2:00 pm | Breakout D (Modernization) | Adapting our Transmission and Distribution

  • Matt Valle, President, NextEra Energy Transmission
  • Janet Rehberg,Chief Strategy Officer & VP of Engineering, Tri-county
  • Balvinder Deonarine, Project Manager, conEdison Transmission

1:15 pm – 2:00 pm | Breakout E (Equity) | Regulation, Partnership, and Community Goals

  • Heather Herndon-Wright, Director Supply Chain Diversity & Sustainability, Vistra
  • Lorraine Akiba, President & CEO, LHA Ventures

1:15 pm – 2:00 pm | Breakout F (Analysis) | Data-Driven Proactive Asset Management


2:15 pm – 3:00 pm |

2:15 pm – 3:00 pm | Breakout H (Modernization) | The Evolution of Demand Response

2:15 pm – 3:00 pm | Breakout I (Resilience) | The Increasing Complexity of Cybersecurity

  • Ann Delenela, Vice President & Chief Information Security Officer, Entergy

3:15pm – 4:00 PM | Breakout J (Decarbonization) | The Colorful World of Hydrogen

A deep dive into the worlds of blue and green hydrogen and how they can be a vital part of a decarbonized energy future.

3:15pm – 4:00 PM | Breakout K (Resillience) | The Colorful World of Hydrogen

Harnessing DERs for Grid Resilience

3:15pm – 4:00 PM | Breakout L (Analysis) | AI Tools for Operations and Customers Alike

  • Khalil Shalibi, Executive Vice President, Strategic Initiatives and Transformation, Lower Colorado River Authority

April 17

7:00am-9:00am | Breakfast & Networking


9:00 am-9:15am | Welcome


9:30am – 9:45am | Opening Keynote


9:45 am – 10:30 am | Decarbonization Panel | Net Zero: Technology and Programs

  • Sunny Elebua, Chief Strategy & Sustainability Officer, Exelon Corporation

10:30am – 11:00 am | 🤝 Networking Break


11:00am – 11:45am | Breakout A (Decarbonization) | Decarbonizing Heat and Buildings: Innovative Solutions for Energy Efficiency and Electrification

  • Liz John, Managing Director, SPEER
  • Joe Nyangon, Ph.D., Deputy Director for Partnerships, The Office of State and Community Energy Programs, DOE
  • Heidi Kasper, Energy Efficiency Services Director, Green Building, Austin Energy

11:00am – 11:45am | Breakout B (Equity) | Empowering Citizens Beyond the Light Switch

  • Utibe Bassey, VP Customer Experience, Dominion
  • Mary Palmer, Director, Energy Equity & Inclusion, SEPA

11:00am – 11:45am | Breakout C (Analysis) | Creating Secure and Efficient Data Pipelines


11:45 am -1:15 pm | Lunch


11:45 am -1:15 pm | Breakout D (Resillience) | A Safer, More Connected Utility Workforce 

  • Josh Gould, Director, Innovation & Strategic Planning, Duquesne Light Company
  • Nathan Fulmer – Pedernales
  • Venus Pineyro, CEO, SafeSpace (Moderator)

11:45 am -1:15 pm | Breakout E (Resillience) | Working with Customers for a Carbon Free Future

  • Hank Stafford, Senior Director Sustainability Strategy, Vistra
  • Brandy Bolden, Chief Customer Officer, SMUD
  • John Hewa, CEO, Rappahannock Co-op

11:45 am -1:15 pm | Breakout F (Modernization) | Changing the Regulator Dynamics’

  • Hank Stafford, Senior Director Sustainability Strategy, Vistra
  • Brandy Bolden, Chief Customer Officer, SMUD
  • John Hewa, CEO, Rappahannock Co-op

2:00 pm – 2:15 pm | Transition Time


2:15 pm – 3:00 PM | Breakout G (Equity) | Shifting the Cost of Progress off Vulnerable Customers

  • Duanne Andrade, Executive Director, Solar and Energy Loan Fund
  • Dr. Patricia De Lange, Lead New Products and Services Development, Duquesne Light Company

2:15 pm – 3:00 PM | Breakout H (Analysis) | The Role of Predictive Analytics in Long-Term Planning Processes

  • Duanne Andrade, Executive Director, Solar and Energy Loan Fund
  • Dr. Patricia De Lange, Lead New Products and Services Development, Duquesne Light Company

2:15 pm – 3:00 PM | Breakout I (Resilience) | Balancing the Grid in an Era of Electrification

  • Venkat Tirupati Sr. Director of Grid and Market Solutions, Ercot

3:00pm -3:15pm | Transition Time


3:15pm – 4:00 PM | Breakout J (Decarbonization) | Decarbonizing the Supply Chain

  •  Lora Anguay, Chief Zero Carbon Officer, SMUD

3:15pm – 4:00 PM | Breakout K (Equity) | Navigating Economic Uncertainty: Leveraging Technology for Sustainable Growth

  • Vanessa Edmonds, Executive Director, Utility 2030 (Moderator)
  • Laura Dutton, Chief Customer Officer, JEA
  • Guy Payne, Assistant General Manager, Distribution & Engineering Service, SnoPUD

3:15pm – 4:00 PM | Breakout L (Modernization) | Fancy Gadgets and Doodads or The Technology that will Shape the Future of the Grid

  • Evan O’Mahoney, Chief Information Officer, CPSE
  • Rich Ramirez, Head Of Innovation, & Technology Corporate Social Responsibility, DTE Energy

April 18

7:30am – 9:00 AM | Breakfast & Networking


8:50am – 9:05 AM | Opening Keynote

Paul Lau, CEO and GM, SMUD


9:05am-9:30am | Analysis Fireside Chat


9:30am-10:00am | Leadership’s Role in Grid Evolution

  • Rudy Garza, President & CEO, CPS Energy

10:00 am – 10:45am | The Need for a New Industry Culture

  • Nancy Bui-Thompson, Board Director, SMUD
  • Carlos Nouel, VP, Transformation Programs, NG
  • Janie Gonzalez, Chairman of the Board, CPS Energy

10:45 am – 11:15 AM | 🤝 Networking Break


11:15 am – 12:00 PM | Resilience Panel | 🤝 The State of Storage

A showcase of storage solutions and their applications for our energy future.

  • Ryan Kiley, Executive Director, Consumers Energy
  • Tracy Alexander, Director of Innovation, NRG Energy
  • Eric Dresselhuys, CEO, ESS inc.

12:00 pm- 12:30 PM | Decarbonization Fireside Chat | The Modern Contours of the Nuclear Discussion

A thorough examination of 21st century nuclear power; the risks and opportunities.


12:30-12:55PM | Equity Fireside Chat | The Gen Z Customer Base

A discussion about how the industry needs to adapt to an increasingly young and tech-literate customer base with new priorities.


12:55-1:15PM | Thought Leader of the Year Award

Download Printable Agenda