2026 Summer Workshops: Forecasting, Grid Solutions, and Large Loads
Denver, CO
June 15, 2026 – June 17, 2026
June 15, 2026 – June 17, 2026
ESIG’s 2026 Summer Workshops bring together five practitioner communities for focused deep-dive sessions on June 15–17 at the Embassy Suites Denver – Downtown Convention Center.
Our annual Forecasting and Meteorology in Power Systems Workshop anchors the week—and alongside it, four additional workshops address emerging challenges tied to that work: Integrating economic and reliability models for power systems planning, advanced grid solutions, flexible interconnections for large loads, and large load modeling, testing and interconnection requirements (co-led with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Laboratory of the Rockies).
Each workshop has its own agenda and speaker roster. A joint networking reception Tuesday evening will bring the groups together around shared challenges. Attendees can participate in one workshop or register for multiple.
Early bird registration ends May 15, 2026!
2026 Summer Workshops: Agendas Now Available!
All workshop attendees are invited to the joint Networking Reception on Tuesday, June 16 from 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Integrating Economic and Reliability Models for Power Systems Planning Workshop
Monday, June 15 | 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Power systems planning has always required linking tools that weren’t designed to work together—and the stakes are higher than ever. This one-day workshop tackles the questions practitioners are actively working through: What weather data belongs in your planning models, and how do you incorporate it? How do you link resource adequacy, production cost simulation, and capacity expansion modeling? How do you bridge economic and reliability analysis? And what advanced geospatial techniques are actually being used to reflect transmission network and siting realities? A focused day for model users and developers, utility planners, and researchers who need to go beyond the surface.
Forecasting and Meteorology in Power Systems Workshop
Monday, June 15, 1:00 p.m. – Tuesday, June 16, 5:15 p.m.
Decades ago, it was about forecasting load. Twenty years ago, we started forecasting wind. Ten years ago, solar. Now we are forecasting for wildfires, extreme weather, and public safety power shutoffs—and tomorrow we will be forecasting for large load operations. This workshop brings together the meteorologists, grid operators, and developers who are advancing what’s possible, with sessions covering AI and machine learning in forecasting models, extreme event and damage prediction, probabilistic forecast applications, wildfire risk, and the emerging challenge of forecasting flexible large load behavior. If your work depends on knowing what the grid is about to face, you’ll want to be in this room.
Large Load Modeling, Testing and Interconnection Requirements Workshop
(joint with the National Laboratory of the Rockies)
Tuesday, June 16 | 8:00 a.m. – 5:15 p.m.
The rapid growth of large dynamic digital loads is creating real-time reliability, modeling, and interconnection challenges that ISOs, RTOs, utilities, and NERC are actively working to address—developing performance and modeling requirements, and establishing the model validation standards those requirements depend on.. This one-day hybrid workshop brings together industry stakeholders to tackle the technical questions at the center of that work: how to model large loads accurately for phasor domain and EMT impact studies, how to validate those models to the fidelity required for reliability assessments, and how interconnection requirements are being shaped to ensure large loads don’t create adverse system impacts. The workshop will also share key findings from the DOE-funded project Foundational Studies and Technical Solutions for Large Dynamic Digital Loads to ground the broader industry discussion in current research.
Advanced Grid Solutions Workshop
Wednesday, June 17 | 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
The industry is under growing pressure to expand grid capability faster, more flexibly, and at lower cost than traditional solutions alone can provide. Utilities and ISOs are now working through the hard practical questions: how to build roadmaps for advanced grid solutions and decide which tools to prioritize, how to move from pilots to actual adoption at scale, and where AI can improve planning and operations versus where more caution is still warranted. This workshop brings together transmission planners, operations and system studies staff, technology providers, and researchers for a focused day on evaluation, trust, implementation, and what the industry needs to do next.
Flexible Interconnections for Large Loads Workshop
Wednesday, June 17 | 8:00 a.m. – 5:15 p.m.
Large-load connection requests are growing quickly, and in many cases the fastest path to service may depend on some form of flexible interconnection rather than waiting for fully firm transmission solutions. Utilities, ISOs/RTOs, developers, and regulators are all actively working through how these arrangements should be studied, operated, and governed. This workshop draws on experience with flexible interconnections for DERs and generators to ask what large-load interconnections can learn from those cases, and then goes further: how flexible large-load interconnections should be treated in planning and resource adequacy studies, what controls and telemetry are needed to make flexible service credible, what market rules need to change, and how tariffs and regulatory frameworks will need to evolve for flexible interconnections to scale.
EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION ENDS MAY 15, 2026!
Additional Events
encoord Bites & Beverages Networking Social
Wednesday, June 17 | 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Join encoord for a post-ESIG networking event in Denver! Connect with industry peers over drinks and appetizers.
This informal mixer brings together energy industry professionals to connect, continue conversations, and expand your network in a casual setting. Whether you’re attending ESIG or simply part of the broader energy community, this is a great opportunity to meet and engage with peers.
Enjoy drinks and hearty appetizers, along with live painting by local Colorado artist Jesse Crock. Two pieces created during the event will be raffled off.
If you’re coming from ESIG, encoord’s office is just 13 minutes away from the host hotel, an easy stop to keep the conversations going.
Please RSVP by June 12.
Accommodations
The 2026 summer workshop series will be held at the Embassy Suites Denver Downtown Convention Center. The ESIG room rate is $239/night. We encourage you to book your room soon; we do expect the room block to sell out. Room reservations can be cancelled up to 48 hours before the arrival date without penalty.
The deadline to make your reservation at the special rate is May 22, 2026.
Event Sponsors
