Description
The 8th Grid Modernization & Resiliency Summit 2026 is a focused, networking-centric forum dedicated to the engineering, operational, and regulatory requirements of a rapidly evolving power system. The Summit brings together executives from utilities, system operators, national labs, and solution providers to address the practical challenges of upgrading North America’s distribution and transmission infrastructure.
As electrification accelerates, DER penetration increases, and extreme-weather events intensify, utilities face unprecedented system complexity and the need to modernize their networks. Indeed, over 70% of U.S. transmission lines are more than 25 years old -- nearing the end of their typical 50-to-80-year lifecycle -- and almost 70% of large power transformers in the U.S. are over 25 years old, increasing vulnerability to failure. This Summit is designed to address this situation by focusing on applied solutions, implementation strategies, and technology deployments for improving grid reliability, services flexibility, stability and operational resilience.
Additional information
Topics to be addressed include:
- Grid Reliability & Resilience — Hardening infrastructure, improving outage performance, and preparing for extreme weather.
- Distribution System Modernization — ADMS, automation, and upgraded protection schemes for a more flexible and observable grid.
- DER & Inverter-Based Resource Integration — Managing high-penetration DERs, VPPs, and EV load impacts on distribution systems.
- Emerging Smart Grid Technologies and Strategies — Learning from industry leaders at the cutting edge of innovation and performance in increasingly demanding environments.
- Microgrids & Local Resilience Systems — Design, control strategies, and operational lessons from campus, community, and industrial microgrids.
- Energy Storage Deployment — Storage applications for reliability, stability, and peak management, plus evolving safety and code requirements.
- OT System Modernization — Upgrading SCADA, field devices, and operational platforms to support a more adaptive, data-rich, and distributed grid.
- Change Drivers & Grid of the Future — Current market trends, requirements, challenges and opportunities facing the grid.
- And more
