2026 Annual Meeting and Education Conference

Session Key

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

OPEN — Open to all registrants

Sunday, November 8

CCIF Networking Breakfast & Kickoff Forum: (Topic TBD)

Sunday, November 8
8:30am – 11:15am

OPEN

Staff Subcommittee on Consumers and the Public Interest
Staff Subcommittee on Critical Infrastructure
Staff Subcommittee on Electric Reliability and Resilience
Staff Subcommittee on Electricity
Staff Subcommittee on Energy Resources and the Environment
Staff Subcommittee on Rate Design

The 17th Annual Critical Consumer Issues Forum (CCIF) Kickoff will feature state commissioners, consumer advocates, and electric company representatives to introduce CCIF’s new energy-related topic (to be announced soon).

Separate registration required (no fees, but space limited): REGISTER HERE

Networking Breakfast: 8:30 – 9:30 AM (hot buffet sponsored by Edison Electric Institute)

Program: 9:30 – 11:15 AM (in collaboration with NARUC Staff Subcommittees)

Registration Open

Sunday, November 8
9:00am – 6:30pm

OPEN

Sunday, November 8
10:00am – 11:30am

CLOSED

Executive Committee

(Invitation Only)

Sunday, November 8
10:30am – 11:30am

OPEN

Staff Subcommittee on Gas
Staff Subcommittee on Water

New Commissioners Welcome Lunch

Sunday, November 8
11:30am – 12:30pm

CLOSED

(New Commissioners Only)

Lunch on Your Own

Sunday, November 8
11:30am – 1:30pm

OPEN

Sunday, November 8
12:30pm – 1:30pm

CLOSED

Washington Action Program

Sunday, November 8
1:00pm – 2:00pm

OPEN

Staff Subcommittee on Critical Infrastructure
Staff Subcommittee on Electric Reliability and Resilience

Sunday, November 8
1:00pm – 2:00pm

OPEN

Staff Subcommittee on Education and Research

Sunday, November 8
1:00pm – 2:00pm

OPEN

Staff Subcommittee on Pipeline Safety
Subcommittee on Pipeline Safety

What Replaces Copper

Sunday, November 8
1:00pm – 2:00pm

OPEN

Staff Subcommittee on Telecommunications

As the Internet Protocol transition proceeds, several telecommunications service providers are seeking to abandon their copper facilities through FCC Section 214 applications, arguing that there are new replacement services that can provide telecommunications service to customers now served on copper facilities. In reviewing these petitions, state commissions have questioned whether the replacement services provide the same quality of service as traditional copper service. In this panel, participants will explore state experiences with these abandonment petitions and some of the service providers that have filed the petitions.

Coffee, Connections & Conversation

Sunday, November 8
2:00pm – 2:30pm

OPEN

Sunday, November 8
2:30pm – 3:30pm

OPEN

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

Sunday, November 8
2:30pm – 3:30pm

OPEN

Staff Subcommittee on Nuclear Energy

Sunday, November 8
2:30pm – 3:30pm

OPEN

Staff Subcommittee on Pipeline Safety
Subcommittee on Pipeline Safety

Sunday, November 8
2:30pm – 3:30pm

OPEN

Staff Subcommittee on Regulatory and Industry Diversity

Coffee, Connections & Conversation

Sunday, November 8
3:30pm – 4:00pm

OPEN

Sunday, November 8
4:00pm – 5:00pm

OPEN

Staff Subcommittee on Energy Resources and the Environment

Sunday, November 8
4:00pm – 5:00pm

OPEN

Subcommittee on Nuclear Energy

Sunday, November 8
4:00pm – 5:00pm

OPEN

Staff Subcommittee on Rate Design

Sunday, November 8
4:00pm – 5:00pm

OPEN

Select Committee on Regulatory and Industry Diversity

Sunday, November 8
4:00pm – 5:00pm

OPEN

Staff Subcommittee of Public Information Officers
Staff Subcommittee on Administrative Law Judges
Staff Subcommittee on Executive Management
Staff Subcommittee on Law

Welcome Reception

Sunday, November 8
5:00pm – 6:00pm

OPEN

Monday, November 9

Commission Chairs Breakfast

Monday, November 9
7:45am – 8:45am

CLOSED

(Invitees Only)

Buenos Dias Break

Monday, November 9
8:30am – 9:00am

OPEN

Registration Open

Monday, November 9
8:30am – 4:30pm

OPEN

Business Meeting

Monday, November 9
9:00am – 10:00am

OPEN

Committee on Electricity

Business Meeting

Monday, November 9
9:00am – 10:00am

OPEN

Committee on Energy Resources and the Environment

Business Meeting

Monday, November 9
9:00am – 10:00am

OPEN

Committee on Gas

Business Meeting

Monday, November 9
9:00am – 10:00am

OPEN

Committee on Telecommunications

Buenos Dias Break

Monday, November 9
10:00am – 10:30am

OPEN

Monday, November 9
10:30am – 11:30am

OPEN

Committee on Consumers and the Public Interest

Monday, November 9
10:30am – 11:30am

OPEN

Committee on Critical Infrastructure

Monday, November 9
10:30am – 11:30am

OPEN

Committee on International Relations

Business Meeting

Monday, November 9
10:30am – 11:30am

OPEN

Committee on Water

Lunch on Your Own

Monday, November 9
11:30am – 1:00pm

OPEN

Opening General Session

Monday, November 9
1:00pm – 2:30pm

OPEN

Welcome Remarks

President’s Reflections

NARUC President Ann Rendahl will look back on the past year, specifically focusing on her theme, Uniting Regulators: Harmonizing Impact, Advancing Reliable and Resilient Infrastructure.

Officer Elections

In Memoriam

Coffee, Connections & Conversation

Monday, November 9
2:30pm – 2:45pm

OPEN

General Session

Monday, November 9
2:45pm – 4:00pm

OPEN

Commissioner Emeritus Meeting

Monday, November 9
4:30pm – 5:30pm

CLOSED

(Commissioner Emeritus Only)

MACRUC

Monday, November 9
4:30pm – 5:30pm

CLOSED

(Invitees Only)

MARC

Monday, November 9
4:30pm – 5:30pm

CLOSED

(Invitees Only)

NECPUC

Monday, November 9
4:30pm – 5:30pm

CLOSED

(Invitees Only)

SEARUC

Monday, November 9
4:30pm – 5:30pm

CLOSED

(Invitees Only)

Western

Monday, November 9
4:30pm – 5:30pm

CLOSED

(Invitees Only)
Tuesday, November 10

Commissioners-Only Breakfast

Tuesday, November 10
7:45am – 8:45am

CLOSED

Registration Open

Tuesday, November 10
8:30am – 4:30pm

OPEN

Buenos Dias Break

Tuesday, November 10
8:30am – 9:00am

OPEN

Concurrent Session A-1

Tuesday, November 10
9:00am – 10:00am

OPEN

Concurrent Session A-2

Tuesday, November 10
9:00am – 10:00am

OPEN

Concurrent Session A-3

Tuesday, November 10
9:00am – 10:00am

OPEN

Concurrent Session A-4: Fortune Favors the 'DER-ing': Charting Distribution Interconnection's Next Chapter

Tuesday, November 10
9:00am – 10:00am

OPEN

As distributed energy resource (DER) deployment grows, new models and solutions are needed to ensure DER interconnection practices are in place that are cost-effective, efficient, and timely. This session will highlight for attendees the emerging solutions currently proposed or adopted by state utility commissions, including group studies, updated integrated resource planning and distribution system planning techniques, smarter cost allocation for grid upgrades, proactive investments for EVs and other emerging loads, and technical and regulatory solutions to energy storage interconnection challenges.

Buenos Dias Break

Tuesday, November 10
10:00am – 10:30am

OPEN

Concurrent Session

Tuesday, November 10
10:30am – 11:30am

OPEN

Concurrent Session

Tuesday, November 10
10:30am – 11:30am

OPEN

Concurrent Session B-1: Modernizing Utility Data and Customer Service Infrastructure to Improve Affordability and Customer Outcomes and Enable Flexible Load

Tuesday, November 10
10:30am – 11:30am

OPEN

Utilities are under growing pressure to improve affordability, customer service, and participation in the evolving flexible energy system. Modern data exchange platforms can reduce costs, simplify customer-authorized data sharing, and provide customers with energy service options, whereas AI-enabled tools can improve customer support, billing assistance, and program delivery. Attendees will learn how regulators, utilities, and third parties can work together to modernize utilities’ data infrastructure, overcome barriers to data access, and ensure that new technologies deliver measurable benefits for customers.

Concurrent Session B-4: Can Measuring

Tuesday, November 10
10:30am – 11:30am

OPEN

Grid utilization is gaining ground as a concept to meet load growth, integrate distributed resources, and hold down costs — but does improving utilization translate to improving affordability? Virginia law now requires utility planning to consider grid efficiency technologies, and the Minnesota Public Utility Commission recently ordered similar metrics into distribution planning. This session will provide attendees with a combination of perspectives describing how grid utilization is measured, findings from recent studies, and whether there is a direct connection to affordability

Lunch on Your Own

Tuesday, November 10
11:30am – 1:30pm

OPEN

Concurrent Session

Tuesday, November 10
1:30pm – 2:30pm

OPEN

Concurrent Session - Ethics

Tuesday, November 10
1:30pm – 2:30pm

OPEN

Concurrent Session - Transmission Workshop

Tuesday, November 10
1:30pm – 2:30pm

OPEN

Concurrent Session C-2: Water Under Attack: Building Cyber Resilience in the Water Sector

Tuesday, November 10
1:30pm – 2:30pm

OPEN

Recent cybersecurity incidents targeting U.S. water and wastewater systems underscore a growing reality: water utilities are increasingly on the front lines of critical infrastructure security. Panelists will provide an update on the current threat environment, best practices for strengthening cybersecurity resilience, and the value of information sharing and collaboration. The session will also include an examination of the emerging cybersecurity policy landscape, the potential application of AI in cyber defense, and innovative approaches to helping small and resource-constrained water systems improve their cybersecurity posture.

Concurrent Session C3: The Copper Sunset: Planning the Transition to IP Networks

Tuesday, November 10
1:30pm – 2:30pm

OPEN

The telecom network is transitioning from Plain Old Telephone Service (provided over copper) to Internet Protocol-based services (provided over fiber and wireless networks). This will require a new way to interconnect calls to ensure that calls can be completed and that customers retain access to emergency services. This session will address these questions:

  • How will commissions and service providers manage this transition?
  • What new infrastructure and regulations will be required?
  • Will state commission retain oversight to ensure that customers are protected?

This panel will review the 3 current proposals for interconnecting calls in an all-IP network.

Coffee, Connections & Conversation

Tuesday, November 10
2:30pm – 3:00pm

OPEN

Concurrent Session

Tuesday, November 10
3:00pm – 4:00pm

OPEN

Concurrent Session

Tuesday, November 10
3:00pm – 4:00pm

OPEN

Concurrent Session - Transmission Workshop

Tuesday, November 10
3:00pm – 4:00pm

OPEN

Concurrent Session D3: What Happens to My Call When the Power Goes Out?

Tuesday, November 10
3:00pm – 4:00pm

OPEN

Today’s legacy telephone network continues to operate during power outages, because power is provided from the Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier’s central office. Fiber networks require power at the customer’s premises. Wireless networks require power at the cell tower and the ability to charge customer equipment. The conversation will be guided by these questions:

  • What vulnerabilities does this cause and what can state commissions do to resolve this issue?
  • Will providing customers with on-site battery backup ensure access to communications when commercial power is shut off during emergencies and extreme weather events?
  • How can we ensure that customers retain access to E911 and other critical services?
Wednesday, November 11

Buenos Dias Break

Wednesday, November 11
8:00am – 8:30am

OPEN

Registration Open

Wednesday, November 11
8:00am – 10:00am

OPEN

General Session

Wednesday, November 11
8:30am – 10:00am

OPEN

Building for Resilience & Safety: Preparedness, Response, and Recovery

This session will focus on the resilience and safety of American utility infrastructure, including lessons learned in Puerto Rico, and a discussion of pipeline safety in the United States. Hurricane Maria caused catastrophic damage to Puerto Rico’s electric, water, and telecommunications infrastructure. The event revealed tightly wound infrastructure dependencies and chronic underinvestment. Working together, providers and government partners continue to rebuild through substation modernization, battery storage, fiber redundancy, and hardened water treatment plants.

In this session, attendees will better understand the importance of coordination, technology, and sustained funding. Puerto Rico’s experience carries lessons for all stakeholders as they increasingly confront extreme weather and other infrastructure hazards.

Panelists: TBD

Buenos Dias Break

Wednesday, November 11
10:00am – 10:15am

OPEN

Closing General Session

Wednesday, November 11
10:15am – 11:15am

OPEN

Keeping Communities Running When They Need It Most: What Can We Learn from Local Resilience Solutions?

When extreme weather strikes, access to electricity, communications, and water becomes more than a matter of convenience. It is essential to public safety, health, economic stability, and community recovery. From hurricanes and floods to winter storms and wildfires, recent disasters have demonstrated that communities need more than resilient utility systems alone. They also need local resources and partnerships that can help keep critical services operating when the broader system is under stress.

This general session will explore how community resilience initiatives help strengthen preparedness and recovery in many places across the country. Attendees will hear a rapid-fire series of stories from the field that highlight real-world examples of community resilience projects.

NARUC Board of Directors Meeting

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

OPEN