SEPA’s 16th Executive Fact-Finding Mission
Jared Leader is Senior Director of Research & Industry Strategy at the Smart Electric Power Alliance.
In late October, overlooking the Tagus River from Lisbon, we began SEPA’s 16th Executive Fact-Finding Mission, our first to Portugal and the Iberian Peninsula. Our delegation of twenty utility and technology company executives from across SEPA’s diverse membership came together to explore how this historic nation, once a center of global exploration, is now charting a new course in energy leadership. Portugal’s story today is one of resilience, energy security, and affordability, achieved through rapid renewable energy growth and a commitment to keeping the clean energy transition within reach for consumers.
Our recent mission to the Iberian Peninsula offered an extraordinary look at how the region is approaching resilience, market design, and renewable integration. Alongside our members and gracious in-country hosts, we met with government officials, system operators, utilities, and innovators to discuss everything from restoration after the April outage to innovation and emerging technologies, new markets and policies, and demand-side management and energy storage for better operational flexibility and resilience.
As we wrapped up our mission, we were reminded of the power of sharing knowledge across borders and around the world. Each trip convenes a small cohort of senior utility executives and industry leaders to engage directly with their counterparts abroad.