2026 Winter Policy Summit

Session Key

CLOSED — Closed to non-members (Commission members only)

OPEN — Open to all registrants

Saturday, February 7

Saturday, February 7
3:00am – 4:30am

CLOSED

Executive Committee

Sunday, February 8

Morning Brew

Sunday, February 8
9:30am – 10:00am

OPEN

Sunday, February 8
10:00am – 11:00am

OPEN

Staff Subcommittee on Rate Design

Staff Subcommittee on Telecommunications Business Meeting

Sunday, February 8
10:00am – 11:00am

OPEN

Staff Subcommittee on Telecommunications

The Value of Managed EV Charging: Using Flexibility to Support Reliability, Resource Adequacy, and Resiliency

Sunday, February 8
10:00am – 11:00am

OPEN

Staff Subcommittee on Electric Reliability and Resilience
Staff Subcommittee on Energy Resources and the Environment
Staff Subcommittee on Rate Design

State commissions face the challenge of ensuring reliability and affordability amidst unprecedented load growth. Managed electric vehicle (EV) charging represents the single largest, fastest-growing, and most cost-effective source of flexible load available to grid operators today. By aggregating EVs into Virtual Power Plants (VPPs), utilities can harness existing customer-owned assets to provide significant grid services, defer costly infrastructure upgrades, and lower costs for all ratepayers.

 This session will provide practical insights into the value of managed charging. Attendees will leave with an understanding of how to unlock this resource to meet pressing policy and regulatory objectives. This session will equip attendees with the information needed to quantify the value of managed charging, evaluate utility proposals, design effective policies, and leverage managed charging as a core strategy for enhancing reliability, ensuring resource adequacy, and improving affordability


SPEAKERS:

Poorani Ramachandran
Director, Office of Technical and Regulatory Analysis
(MODERATOR)
Public Service Commission, District of Columbia

Morning Brew

Sunday, February 8
11:00am – 11:15am

OPEN

Sunday, February 8
11:15am – 12:15pm

OPEN

Staff Subcommittee on Accounting and Finance

Sunday, February 8
11:15am – 12:15pm

OPEN

Staff Subcommittee on Information Services

Sunday, February 8
11:15am – 12:15pm

OPEN

Staff Subcommittee of Public Information Officers

Better Together: State Coordination on Bill Assistance

Sunday, February 8
11:15am – 12:15pm

OPEN

Staff Subcommittee on Consumers and the Public Interest

Where Have All the Numbers Gone? Internet of Things (IoT) Use of Telephone Numbers

Sunday, February 8
11:15am – 12:15pm

OPEN

Staff Subcommittee on Telecommunications

Lunch on Your Own

Sunday, February 8
12:15pm – 1:30pm

OPEN

Sunday, February 8
1:30pm – 2:30pm

OPEN

Staff Subcommittee on Energy Resources and the Environment

Sunday, February 8
1:30pm – 2:30pm

OPEN

Staff Subcommittee on Gas

Sunday, February 8
1:30pm – 2:30pm

OPEN

Staff Subcommittee on Regulatory and Industry Diversity

Shared Challenges: How RTOs and States Can Ensure Resource Adequacy Amid Rapid Load Increases

Sunday, February 8
1:30pm – 2:30pm

OPEN

Staff Subcommittee on Electricity

Subcommittee and Staff Subcommittee on Education and Research

Sunday, February 8
1:30pm – 2:30pm

OPEN

Staff Subcommittee on Education and Research
Subcommittee on Education and Research

Welcome & Roll Call

Approval of July 23, 2025 Minutes

Updates

  • Center for Partnerships & Innnovation
  • NARUC Professional Development

Spring 2026 Commission Staff Scholarships 

Applications for Support of an Event

Any Other Business


SPEAKERS:

Hon. Lea Marquez Peterson
(MODERATOR)
Arizona
Donn English
Co-Chair, Staff Subcommittee on Education and Research
Manager, Accounting & Finance, Idaho Public Utilities Commission
Erin Hammel
Senior Director, Professional Development
NARUC
Danielle Sass Byrnett
Senior Director, Ctr for Partnerships & Innovation
NARUC

Metro Afternoon Boost

Sunday, February 8
2:30pm – 2:45pm

OPEN

Sunday, February 8
2:45pm – 3:45pm

OPEN

Staff Subcommittee on Coal and Carbon Innovation
Subcommittee on Coal and Carbon Innovation

Sunday, February 8
2:45pm – 3:45pm

OPEN

Select Committee on Regulatory and Industry Diversity

Sunday, February 8
2:45pm – 3:45pm

OPEN

Staff Subcommittee on Nuclear Energy
Subcommittee on Nuclear Energy

Sunday, February 8
2:45pm – 3:45pm

OPEN

Staff Subcommittee on Water

Metro Afternoon Boost

Sunday, February 8
3:45pm – 4:00pm

OPEN

Sunday, February 8
4:00pm – 5:00pm

OPEN

Committee on International Relations

Sunday, February 8
4:00pm – 5:00pm

CLOSED

Staff Subcommittee on Pipeline Safety
Subcommittee on Pipeline Safety

Sunday, February 8
4:00pm – 5:00pm

CLOSED

Staff Subcommittee on Executive Management

Sunday, February 8
4:00pm – 5:00pm

OPEN

Staff Subcommittee on Law

Smarter Scams, Smarter Protections

Sunday, February 8
4:00pm – 5:00pm

OPEN

Committee on Consumers and the Public Interest

Unclassified Threat Brief

Sunday, February 8
4:00pm – 5:00pm

OPEN

Committee on Critical Infrastructure

FBI led unclassified threat brief highlighting emerging phsyical and cybersecurity threats to critical infrastructure with federal and state homeland security implications. 


SPEAKERS:

Garris Ference
Intelligence Analyst, Counterintelligence Division
FBI

Welcome Reception

Sunday, February 8
5:00pm – 6:00pm

OPEN

Wear Your Fave Team’s Jersey!

Monday, February 9

Commission Chairs Council Breakfast

Monday, February 9
8:00am – 9:00am

CLOSED

(Commission Chairs Only)

Morning Brew

Monday, February 9
8:30am – 9:00am

OPEN

OPENING GENERAL SESSION - Gold Medal Defense: Winning Against Cyber Threats to Essential Services

Monday, February 9
9:30am – 10:45am

OPEN

Advanced digital technologies are the backbone of today’s power grid and other essential service industries. Yet these same technologies can expose operators to cyberattacks that have the potential to impact service delivery. This session explores the critical role cybersecurity plays in mitigating cyber threats, and strengthening defenses.

Morning Brew

Monday, February 9
10:45am – 11:15am

OPEN

Monday, February 9
11:15am – 12:15pm

OPEN

Committee on Telecommunications

Business Meeting

Monday, February 9
11:15am – 12:15pm

OPEN

Committee on Water

Business Meeting

Monday, February 9
11:15am – 12:15pm

OPEN

Committee on Gas

DER Part 1: No One Puts DER in the Corner - Innovative Examples of DER Deployment, DER is More Than Just Thermostats and Batteries

Monday, February 9
11:15am – 12:15pm

OPEN

Committee on Energy Resources and the Environment

The panel will show the versatility of DER, and explain how DER can be so much more than what it is stereotyped as.

This panel will present 3-4 case studies that highlight the successful implementation of DER in a unique manner to solve grid challenges. In presenting their case studies, panelists will describe the DER solution, and detail what grid issue their DER solution was addressing, why traditional solutions could not solve the problem, the cost of the DER solution, and how the utility/regulator determined that the DER solution was successful/solved the grid challenges.

Keeping Power Affordable: Customer Perspectives on Rising Electricity Costs

Monday, February 9
11:15am – 12:15pm

OPEN

Committee on Electricity

Electricity customers across the country are facing sharp increases in their bills, with recent consumer cost increases (5.5% over the last 12 months) well outpacing inflation. These pressures strain household budgets—particularly for low-income families—and raise risks for U.S. competitiveness and national security, as electricity-intensive sectors such as Artificial Intelligence, data centers, manufacturing, and defense expand rapidly. While surging demand from data centers has grabbed headlines as a primary cause of rising costs, the reality is more complex. Additional cost drivers like infrastructure and supply chain delays, inefficient investments, and more, must also be understood by regulators to devise effective responses. This session will spotlight real customers from multiple segments who will identify key drivers of rising costs, explain how those increases impact key sectors like technology, manufacturing, retail, and agriculture, and share thoughts on potential responses.

Committee Chairs Luncheon

Monday, February 9
12:15pm – 1:45pm

CLOSED

(Invitees Only)

Lunch on Your Own

Monday, February 9
12:15pm – 1:45pm

OPEN

Monday, February 9
1:45pm – 2:45pm

OPEN

Committee on Telecommunications

Monday, February 9
1:45pm – 2:45pm

OPEN

Committee on Water

Business Meeting

Monday, February 9
1:45pm – 2:45pm

OPEN

Committee on Electricity

DER Part 2: Getting DER Out of the Corner – Addressing the DER Barriers of Interconnection, Compensation, and Customer Value

Monday, February 9
1:45pm – 2:45pm

OPEN

Committee on Energy Resources and the Environment

This panel will discuss three of the barriers that are holding DER back from reaching its full potential: Interconnection processes, Utility compensation, and limited Customer Value for both participants and non-participants (e.g., can DER solutions provide reduced utility costs, leading to lower customer costs).

LIHEAP and Consumer Affordability

Monday, February 9
1:45pm – 2:45pm

OPEN

Committee on Gas

Metro Afternoon Boost

Monday, February 9
2:45pm – 3:15pm

OPEN

Monday, February 9
3:15pm – 4:15pm

OPEN

Committee on Water

Breaking Barriers to Batteries: Unlocking Affordability and Reliability from Battery Storage in the Eastern Interconnection

Monday, February 9
3:15pm – 4:15pm

OPEN

Committee on Electricity

Last summer, Texas and California proved that grid-scale battery storage can cost-effectively tackle rising peak demand even using strikingly different energy policies and market structures. Storage helped ERCOT avoid blackouts and calls for conservation, and enabled California to export power. While half of U.S. storage in the queue targets deployment by 2026, most is in the West. Deployment in the Eastern Interconnection lags dues to interconnection delays, procurement bias, market design flaws, and outdated planning approaches. A few states show progress, but the region is far from reaping the full benefits of storage. This panel will explore barriers to storage deployment in PJM, MISO, SPP, and the Southeast, and present actionable solutions –from improved procurement methods to policy reforms – that Commissions can leverage to accelerate deployment, enhance grid resilience, and unlock the full value of storage for customers.

Business Meeting

Monday, February 9
3:15pm – 4:15pm

OPEN

Committee on Energy Resources and the Environment

Business Meeting

Monday, February 9
3:15pm – 4:15pm

OPEN

Committee on Telecommunications

The Role of Alternative Regulatory Mechanisms in Today's Utility Landscape - Continuing the Discussion of Regulatory Lag

Monday, February 9
3:15pm – 4:15pm

OPEN

Committee on Gas

Commission Staff Power Hour

Monday, February 9
4:15pm – 5:15pm

CLOSED

(Commission Staff Only)

Commissioner Emeritus Meeting

Monday, February 9
4:15pm – 5:15pm

CLOSED

(Commissioner Emeritus Only)

MACRUC

Monday, February 9
4:15pm – 5:15pm

CLOSED

(Invitees Only)

MARC

Monday, February 9
4:15pm – 5:15pm

CLOSED

(Invitees Only)

NECPUC

Monday, February 9
4:15pm – 5:15pm

CLOSED

(Invitees Only)

SEARUC

Monday, February 9
4:15pm – 5:15pm

CLOSED

(Invitees Only)

Western

Monday, February 9
4:15pm – 5:15pm

CLOSED

(Invitees Only)

Tuesday, February 10

Commissioner-Only Breakfast

Tuesday, February 10
7:45am – 9:15am

CLOSED

(Commissioners Only)

Morning Brew

Tuesday, February 10
9:00am – 9:30am

OPEN

GENERAL SESSION

Tuesday, February 10
9:30am – 10:30am

OPEN

Morning Brew

Tuesday, February 10
10:30am – 11:00am

OPEN

Tuesday, February 10
11:00am – 12:00pm

OPEN

Committee on Electricity

Tuesday, February 10
11:00am – 12:00pm

OPEN

Committee on Telecommunications

Tuesday, February 10
11:00am – 12:00pm

OPEN

Committee on Water

Balancing Affordability and Emissions Reductions: The Role of Renewable Natural Gas

Tuesday, February 10
11:00am – 12:00pm

OPEN

Committee on Gas

Jekyll and Hyde: Will AI Save Ratepayers Money and Support Other Energy Goals, or Drive Up Costs and Use All of Our Land and Water?

Tuesday, February 10
11:00am – 12:00pm

OPEN

Committee on Energy Resources and the Environment

This panel will be a debate between two lively, yet to be identified, speakers who will take either side of the argument about whether AI tools can fulfill the promise of unlocking the efficient use of existing utility infrastructure, reducing utility management costs, and optimizing the energy system to generate savings on behalf of customers, or whether those benefits will be outweighed by the costs of infrastructure investment and resources necessary to support these new large loads.

Lunch on Your Own

Tuesday, February 10
12:00pm – 1:30pm

OPEN

Tuesday, February 10
1:45pm – 2:45pm

OPEN

Committee on Energy Resources and the Environment

Tuesday, February 10
1:45pm – 2:45pm

OPEN

Committee on Telecommunications

Tuesday, February 10
1:45pm – 2:45pm

OPEN

Committee on Water

Bridging the Gaps: Co-Optimizing Energy Systems for a Resilient Future

Tuesday, February 10
1:45pm – 2:45pm

OPEN

Committee on Gas

Technologies to Overcome Challenges in a Resource-Constrained Electric Industry

Tuesday, February 10
1:45pm – 2:45pm

OPEN

Committee on Electricity

Electric utilities face simultaneous pressures — rising demand, aging infrastructure, budget limits, clean energy mandates, and workforce shortages — all while maintaining high reliability expectations. To succeed under these constraints, leaders must invest in integrated, high-impact technologies that deliver multiple benefits at once: Advanced Grid Management – Enhanced SCADA and self-healing networks to improve reliability and reduce costs; Data-Driven Asset Optimization – Monitoring and predictive maintenance extend equipment life and prevent outages; DER & Microgrid Integration – DERMS, VPPs, and microgrids boost flexibility and resilience; Energy Storage – Batteries and storage to support renewables, stabilize the grid, and lower peak costs; Demand-Side Flexibility – Smart devices, dynamic pricing, and DR ease grid strain without major infrastructure upgrades.

Metro Afternoon Boost

Tuesday, February 10
2:45pm – 3:15pm

OPEN

GENERAL SESSION - Resilience in Action: Teams Working Together When Everything Else Falls Apart

Tuesday, February 10
3:15pm – 4:30pm

OPEN

From hurricanes to wildfires, extreme events test the resilience of critical infrastructure. These emergencies demand more than technical expertise; they require cooperation across sectors. This session examines how essential service providers and public officials overcome silos to share resources, prioritize restoration, and communicate effectively under pressure.

Wednesday, February 11

Morning Brew

Wednesday, February 11
9:00am – 9:30am

OPEN

CLOSING GENERAL SESSION - Is Utility Affordability Skating on Thin Ice?

Wednesday, February 11
9:30am – 11:00am

OPEN

Electricity, gas, and water investment needs are rising while household budgets are not. Regulators are increasingly facing complex decisions about balancing these system needs with customer affordability. This session unpacks the trends and drivers of affordability challenges across sectors and explores what it means to customers. National experts will share current data and tools to identify and ease affordability stress.

NARUC Board of Directors Meeting

Wednesday, February 11
11:30am – 1:00pm

OPEN