As the Electric Power Supply Association’s fifth annual Competitive Power Summit approaches, we’re giving you an inside look at what to expect this year. Held on Wednesday, March 3, 2026 at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, DC, EPSA’s day-long event will bring together leaders from across the competitive power sector—including industry leaders, analysts, energy journalists, policymakers, and regulators from around the country—who will address the urgent challenges facing the electric grid today. As demand from AI, electrification, and manufacturing continues to grow, ensuring reliable power for consumers remains a primary concern for industry leaders.
From a “reality check” on the scale of investment ahead, to candid discussions on cost pressures and regulatory tradeoffs, to deep dives on financing and state leadership in delivering new resources, the 2026 Competitive Power Summit will focus on what it takes to build what’s needed at the pace required, and keep power both reliable and cost-effective.
Competitive power markets have delivered lower electricity prices since their establishment in the 1990s. Today, electric competition is still the best way to attract private capital, spur innovative solutions, and keep financial risks off of customers while ensuring reliability.
Through a series of in-depth panels and fireside chats, EPSA’s fifth Competitive Power Summit will explore what competitive markets and power providers can continue to do to meet fast rising demand and address reliability challenges.
The 2026 Competitive Power Summit will feature:
Fireside Chat: Cost Pressures & Regulatory Realities
Ann Rendahl, President of NARUC and Commissioner of the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission and Commissioner David Rosner of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) will discuss how state regulators are addressing rising infrastructure costs while protecting consumers from financial risk and working to ensure grid reliability.
This conversation looks at how state and federal leaders are navigating one of the toughest public policy challenges of our time: how to pay for the grid of the future.
- Ann Rendahl, President, NARUC and Commissioner, Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission
- David Rosner, Commissioner, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
- Todd Snitchler, President and CEO, EPSA (moderator)
Panel: Managing Costs & Delivering Wins: Making the Future Affordable
Transmission and distribution investments will be massive, and new generation will be needed at a scale unlike anything seen before—costs that will ultimately flow to consumers. Leaders from the North Carolina Utilities Commission Public Staff, Vistra Corp., Kindle Energy, and the DC Public Service Commission unpack the planning tools, market structures, and consumer protections that allow competitive markets to support investment while keeping cost under control.
Speakers include:
- Thomas Tiernan, S&P Global (moderator)
- Chris Ayers, Executive Director, North Carolina Utilities Commission Public Staff
- Lee Davis, CEO, Kindle Energy
- Stacey Doré, Chief Strategy and Sustainability Officer & EVP of Public Affairs, Vistra Corp.
- Nick Elliot, Director of the Grid Deployment Office, National Energy Dominance Council
- Emile Thompson, Chair, DC Public Service Commission
Panel: Financing the Energy Future
Panelists from Energy Capital Partners, Mizuho Americas, and the Data Center Coalition will explore how the energy buildout will be funded, what signals capital needs, and how quickly private investment can translate into real, dispatchable energy resources.
Speakers include:
- Ed Crooks, Vice Chair Americas, Wood Mackenzie, and host of Energy Gang podcast (moderator)
- Judge Kelsey Bagot, Commissioner, Virginia State Corporation Commission
- Anthony Crowdell, Managing Director, Mizuho Americas
- Andrew Gilbert, Partner, Energy Capital Partners
- Josh Levi, President, Data Center Coalition
Panel: State Leadership: Delivering New Energy Resources
States play a decisive role in attracting or deterring energy investment and state policy choices are shaping where billions in new energy investment go. Ohio House of Representatives Speaker Matt Huffman and Competitive Power Ventures CEO Sherman Knight will discuss how states are competing for investment, what’s working to bring new projects online, and the key non-market barriers that are currently slowing down projects.
This session will provide a window into the politics, incentives, and on-the-ground realities driving the energy buildout.
- Kathryn Clay, Lead Energy & Climate analyst, Washington Post Intelligence (moderator)
- Tim Gallagher, President and CEO, ReliabilityFirst
- Speaker Matt Huffman, Ohio House of Representatives
- Sherman Knight, CEO, Competitive Power Ventures
- Additional speakers to be announced
The summit will close with EPSA’s Competitive Edge Award, followed by a reception.
More speakers will be announced stay tuned for updates at epsa.org.
