2026 Veterans in Energy Leadership Forum

Energy Scenes

The 2026 Veterans in Energy Leadership Forum was held at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center at National Harbor, Maryland from February 17-19. There was an exhibit hall, panels, networking receptions, and camaraderie in celebration of U.S. veterans and those veterans in the energy industry. Opening remarks were made by Veterans in Energy President Iliana Rentz.

AI Transforming the Water Industry

Good or Bad, the Possibilities are Endless

“AI can enhance optimizing water treatment, monitoring system performance, and improving customer engagement. For instance, early warnings could be established to flag affordability challenges of high-risk customers, thereby spotting trends before they are shut off.”

Valuing Grid Intelligence

Breaking Down Utility Silos

“Efficiency and customer experience benefits are hard to quantify, and regulators are increasingly wary of qualitative arguments as affordability becomes a dominant concern.”

Utility Scale Energy Storage

Underutilized and Overlooked

“How much remaining stored energy is available at any moment – known as State of Charge (SoC) – is not transparent to grid operators and planners. Achieving greater visibility into SoC is an overlooked means to unlock greater capacity and reliability for the grid at lower cost.”

Transformational Western Leader Says Farewell

WECC

“At WECC, we don’t take an opinion on the best technology or resource to use for generating electricity or any economic or environmental aspect. Our focus is to make sure the West has electricity at all hours of the day and night now and into the future, and that the grid remains stable.”