Agenda: Power Resilience Forum

Thursday, January 22

Morning plenary sessions

8.30-9.00am – Welcome and opening remarks
Kicking off PRF with an overview of our coverage of the space, key themes in the market and the plan for the conference

Julia Hamm: Partner, The Ad Hoc Group & PRF Host

Stephen Lacey: Executive Editor & Co-Founder, Latitude Media & PRF Host

Jason Ryan: Executive Vice President, Regulatory Services & Government Affairs, CenterPoint Energy & PRF Advisory Board Co-Chair

Morgan Scott: VP for Sustainability & Global Outreach, EPRI & PRF Advisory Board Co-Chair

9.00-9.30am - Opening Keynote: From Stability to Surprise: How Shifting Weather Patterns Are Rewriting the Rules for Grid Resilience
Traditional weather patterns are shifting in ways that defy historical norms. Once-reliable seasonal cues are becoming erratic, extremes are becoming more common, and the past is no longer a trustworthy guide for future grid planning. As the boundaries between short-term weather and long-term climate trends blur along the weather-climate continuum, the power sector needs to rethink decision making in an increasingly uncertain climate. This keynote will explore why and how grid planners and operators must adapt to this new reality.

Sunny Wescott: Chief Metereologist, Federal Government

9.30-10.00am - Building the Nation’s Most Resilient Coastal Grid: Strategies from Texas Utilities on Hurricanes, Floods, and Superstorms
Texas utilities are on the front lines of extreme weather, from hurricanes to "100-year" floods that strike every few years. In 2024, both CenterPoint and Entergy filed ambitious resilience plans with their regulator to harden the grid, cut storm outages, and protect millions of customers across Greater Houston and Southeast Texas. How did these utilities embed resilience into long-term planning? How are their customers and regulator evaluating resilience technologies and their ROI? How are CenterPoint and Entergy collaborating with key stakeholders and each other to make the entire community more resilient?

Eliecer Viamontes: President & CEO, Entergy Texas

Jason Wells: President & CEO, CenterPoint Energy

Judge Edward Emmett: former Harris County Judge & Fellow, Baker Institute, Rice University (Moderator)

10.00-10.30am - Deploying the Dollars Before Disaster Strikes - Investing for a Stronger Grid
Too often, investments aren’t made in grid resilience and wildfire mitigation until after a major disaster strikes. How can utilities, regulators and other stakeholders proactively plan for extreme weather events? Should the burden be borne by ratepayers or taxpayers? How can you put an economic value to a more resilient grid?

Manny Miranda: President, Next Level Energy; Retired EVP, Power Delivery, FPL

11.30-12:00pm - Building Back Better: Reimagining the Grid for a Stronger Future
From Hurricane Katrina to Superstorm Sandy, grid disruptions are becoming more frequent and more costly. But recovery is no longer just about restoration; it's about transformation. How have utilities leveraged disaster recovery and infrastructure investments to build a smarter, more resilient, and more flexible grid? What has worked well and what would they do differently? What lessons did they learn and challenges did they face along the way?

12:00-12.30pm - Someone Else’s Problem. Until It Isn’t. Do All Utilities Need Wildfire Mitigation Plans?
Hawaii is green and lush. And surrounded by water. So why should utilities and regulators in the state have been planning for potential wildfires? What about utilities in the East, utilities that are primarily urban, utilities with service territories that are grasslands rather than forests? What’s at stake if you have a low likelihood but high consequence wildfire? What actions should utilities and regulators in states with low wildfire risk be taking, and why?

Robert Kenney: President & CEO, Xcel Energy Colorado

Ann Rendahl: Commissioner, Washington Utilities & Transportation Commission

Friday, January 23

Morning plenary sessions

8.45-9.15am: Keynote

Pedro Pizarro: President & CEO, Edison International

9.15-9.45am: Turning Framework into Action: How Utilities Are Putting Climate Resilience to the Test
As climate risks intensify, utilities are under growing pressure to move from planning to doing. This conversation will explore how forward-thinking utilities are turning climate resilience frameworks—like EPRI’s Climate READi Power Framework, launched in 2025—into concrete action. Hear firsthand how companies are assessing physical climate risks, prioritizing investments, and implementing adaptation strategies on the ground. What’s working well? Where are the pain points? And what early lessons can help others accelerate their own resilience journeys?

Morgan Scott: VP for Sustainability & Global Outreach, EPRI

9.45-10.10am: Smarter, Stronger, Faster: AI for Grid Resilience
As extreme weather, aging infrastructure, and rising demand strain the power grid, artificial intelligence is emerging as a critical tool for resilience. From predictive maintenance and outage forecasting to real-time situational awareness and adaptive grid control, AI is enabling faster, smarter responses to evolving threats. But with growing reliance on opaque algorithms, data quality issues, and cybersecurity concerns, AI also introduces new risks that utilities must confront head-on. Is AI the breakthrough the grid needs—or just another layer of complexity and risk?

Bonnie Titone: Executive Vice President & Chief Administration Officer, Duke Energy

10.10-10.30am: Adapting to Shifting Federal Priorities: Elevating Public and Private Sector Leadership in Resilience
As federal priorities evolve, other stakeholders are recalibrating their strategies, including identifying new opportunities for collaboration and innovation. This session will explore how changing federal funding and policy directions are shaping the resilience landscape and opening space for state, local, community, and private sector leadership. What segments of the resilience value chain are particularly well-suited for private investment? What innovative programs and partnerships are emerging at the local level, and how might they serve as scalable models for others?

10.30-11.00am: Networking break

11.00-11.25am: Driving Innovation: Investing in Tech Solutions for a More Resilient Grid
The past two decades have seen a wave of investment in clean energy technologies to reduce carbon emissions. But investment in adaptation technologies has lagged behind. Is the balance now shifting? What grid resilience technologies are most attractive to investors? What market signals do investors need to see from utilities, regulators, and other stakeholders to have the confidence in this market segment?

Nancy Pfund: Founder & Managing Partner, DBL Partners

Sanjay Wagle: Founder & Managing Partner, Lightsmith Group

11.25-11.50am: Credit in the Line of Fire: Financing Utilities in a Shifting Risk Landscape
As extreme weather events become more frequent and severe, utilities face mounting operational and financial risks. In response, insurers are reassessing their risk, resulting in higher premiums and reduced coverage. Credit rating agencies and municipal bond investors are similarly closely scrutinizing utility risk mitigation and response strategies thus impacting utilities' access to capital and overall liquidity. In this evolving threat landscape, what proactive steps can utilities take to maintain financial resilience?

Shalini Mahajan: Managing Director & Deputy Head, North American Corporate Ratings Group, Fitch

Richard McMahon: Managing Director, Energy Insight Consulting; Former SVP of Energy Supply & Finance & Chief ESG Officer, EEI

11.50am-12.15pm: Resilient, Reliable...and Affordable? Confronting the Power Sector’s Impossible Equation
Can we truly have it all—resilience, affordability, and grid capacity to meet surging demand? As the grid strains under the weight of climate extremes, electrification, and aging infrastructure, regulators and utilities are facing a stark reality: the cost of resilience is rising, and so are expectations. How do we harden the grid, prepare for black swan events, and support decarbonization—without triggering rate shock or deepening energy inequity? How do we quantify resilience benefits and provide the highest value at the lowest cost possible?

Chris Ayers: Executive Director, North Carolina Utilities Commission Public Staff

Tammy Cordova: Commissioner, Public Utilities Commission of Nevada

Matt Green: SVP of Integrated Planning & Advisory, TRC

12.30-1.30pm: Lunch break

Afternoon plenary sessions

1.30-2.00pm: Grid on the Edge: Surviving Polar Vortexes and Heat Domes
From polar vortexes to record heat domes, the grid is being stress-tested year-round, Utilities and regulators are rethinking resilience — winterizing assets, hardening lines, and building flexibility to keep power flowing through wild swings. This panel dives into lessons from recent blackouts and breakthroughs, and what it takes to keep the lights on when the weather won't fair play.

2.00-2.15pm: Keeping the Lights on in America's Heartland: Co-ops and Extreme Weather
Electric cooperatives serve 42 million Americans across some of the most weather-exposed regions of the country. From hurricanes in the Gulf to ice storms in the Midwest and wildfires out West, co-ops are on the front lines of climate extremes. This discussion explores how co-ops are strengthening poles and wires, investing in microgrids and storage, and leveraging mutual aid networks to bounce back faster. Hear how leaders are blending community trust with innovation to keep power flowing when disaster strikes — and what lessons investor-owned and municipal utilities can take from the co-op playbook.

Bryan Hannegan: President & CEO, Holy Cross Energy

2.15-2.45pm: Microgrids to VPPs: Distributed Energy as a Resilience Tool
Distributed energy resources — rooftop solar, batteries, EVs, microgrids — are emerging as frontline tools for resilience. They keep critical facilities powered during outages and ease stress on the bulk grid during extreme events. But they only succeed when customers become true partners, from enrolling in demand response to joining virtual power plants. This panel explores how utilities and co-ops are harnessing customer-owned assets, turning neighborhoods into resilience hubs, and reimagining reliability in an age of climate extremes.

Mari McClure: President & CEO, Green Mountain Power

WORKING AGENDA