The Council’s Fall Conference

AGENDA:

8:00 a.m. — Registration and Breakfast Refreshments

9:00 a.m. — Welcome

9:15 a.m. — The Electricity Affordability Equation: Efficiency, Flexible Demand, and Smart Electrification and Their Impact on Rates

As utilities face growing infrastructure needs, electrification, and customer affordability concerns, this session explores how energy efficiency, demand response, and flexible demand can help shape load, reduce peak costs, support reliability, and make better use of the electric grid. Speakers will examine the opportunities and barriers to delivering greater value for customers and communities.

The session will begin with brief presentations from Commissioner Darcie Houck and Ryan Wilson, followed by a moderated panel discussion.

• Commissioner Darcie Houck, California Public Utilities Commission
• Ryan Wilson, Policy Director, Energy Solutions
• Liz Gill, Reliability Analysis Branch Manager, California Energy Commission
• Marc Costa, Director of Policy and Planning, The Energy Coalition
• Beckie Menten, California Director, Building Decarbonization Coalition
• Moderator: Merrian Borgeson, Director of California Climate and Energy, NRDC

10:30 a.m. — Powering Growth, Centering Communities: Navigating Local Impacts of Rapid Load Expansion

Electrification, data centers, and electric vehicles are increasing electricity demand, with communities experiencing both the opportunities and the challenges of grid expansion. This conversation will explore how early engagement, local priorities, and transparent planning can help address concerns about affordability, reliability, land use, and equity.

• Catherine Casomar, PhD, Co-Founder, Better Data Center Project
• Kathleen Hughes, Assistant Director, Silicon Valley Power
• Moderator: Jeana Swedenburg, Principal Practice Lead for Western Region Market Characterization and Evaluation, Cadmus

11:00 a.m. — Morning Networking Break

11:30 a.m. — Keynote: Centering DSM in Grid Planning of the Future

How can demand-side resources become a more central part of grid planning and operations? This keynote will explore the growing role of demand response, emerging grid services, and the coordination needed among utilities, regulators, aggregators, and customers.

• Leuwam Tesfai, Executive Director, California Public Utilities Commission

12:00 p.m. — CEDMC Remarks and Art Rosenfeld Award Presentation

12:30 p.m. — Lunch

1:30 p.m. — Efficiency Plans for Natural Gas’s Future

This panel will explore near-term opportunities to use natural gas more efficiently, including innovations for industrial uses and existing infrastructure. Speakers will discuss how efficiency strategies can respond to changing energy needs while supporting affordability and decarbonization goals.

• Darren Hanway, Manager of Energy Programs and Strategy, SoCalGas
• Jeff Crittenden, Vice President of Business Development, Energy Infrastructure Partners
• Moderator: Richard Hart, Industry Director, ACEEE

2:15 p.m. — Building the Workforce Behind Efficiency and Electrification

Meeting California’s energy goals will require a workforce equipped to deliver efficiency and electrification projects. This conversation brings together perspectives from organized labor and contractor training to examine what is working, where gaps remain, and how workforce partnerships can grow.

• Mark Hall, Founder, Revalue
• Alex Lantsberg, Research and Advocacy Director, San Francisco Electrical Contractors Institute
• Moderator: Jose “JB” Tengco, Vice President for State Affairs, BlueGreen Alliance

2:45 p.m. — Afternoon Networking Break

3:15 p.m. — Emerging Forces Reshaping EE & DSM Through California’s EE Applications

California’s energy-efficiency business plan process is bringing broader questions about cost-effectiveness, portfolio strategy, and the future role of energy efficiency and demand-side management into focus. This panel will examine the forces shaping the industry and what they could mean for California’s programs and policies.

• Edward Randolph, Partner, Caliber Strategies, former Director of the CPUC Energy Division
• Rob Bohn, Manager of Codes, Standards and Crosscutting Teams, PG&E
• Lou Jacobson, Director, Willdan
• Moderator: Amul Sathe, Director of Energy, Sustainability and Infrastructure, Guidehouse

4:15 p.m. — Where Strategy Meets Customer Reality: Leadership Perspectives on California’s Energy Future

In this closing conversation, leaders will reflect on the day’s discussions and consider the next steps toward an energy future that is clean, affordable, reliable, and responsive to customers’ needs.

• Shawn Marshall, Chief Executive Officer, WestLight Energy
• Brian Stonerock, Director of Advanced Energy Solutions, Southern California Edison
• Wade Stano, Principal Policy Counsel, MCE
• Moderator: Chris Burmester, Chief Strategy Officer, Energy Solutions, and CEDMC Board Chair

4:45 p.m. — Closing Remarks

5:00 p.m. — Networking Reception

Agenda and participants are subject to change.