News

Tuesday, October 28

12:45 p.m.: Welcome and Introductions  

• Jack Waldorf, WGA Executive Director  

12:50 p.m.: Opening Remarks  

• The Honorable Jared Polis, Governor of Colorado

1:30 p.m.: Panel 1: Transmission Needs for More-of-the-Above 

The West is abundant in energy resources, from geothermal and solar to hydropower, nuclear, natural gas, wind and emerging technologies.  Harnessing all of these in a “more-of-the-above” approach will require a stronger regional grid that can connect resources across state lines.  Other challenges including interconnection and varying market rules can make it difficult to coordinate deployment at the scale and speed needed to meet demand.  This panel will examine a range of factors to identify the transmission investments needed to ensure more affordable and reliable energy while creating opportunities for communities across the region. 

• Panelists: Yaron Miller, Project Director, Pew Charitable Trusts; and Chris Parker, Director, Utah Division of Public Utilities  

2:30 p.m.: Panel 2: Unlocking Transmission Development through Permitting 

Due to the lack of a streamlined, unified approach and fragmented authorities, permitting transmission projects remains one of the most significant barriers to expanding and modernizing the grid.  Projects often require approvals from multiple agencies, leading to duplicative reviews under NEPA and other environmental statutes that can stretch timelines for years and increase costs.  This patchwork process not only creates uncertainty for developers but also limits the ability to plan and build transmission at the scale needed to meet rising demand and integrate new energy resources.  This panel will examine how common-sense modifications to the permitting processes can expedite transmission projects and maintain protections for environmental considerations. 

• Panelists: Janea A. Scott, Senior Fellow, Gridworks; and Brant Johnson, Senior Vice President for Development, Grid United 

3:30 p.m.: Panel 3: The Future of Financing - With or Without Transmission Authorities 

While the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act began to establish and expand funding tools for transmission such as grants, loans, and credit programs, these measures represent only an initial step.  Additional public financing and support for early-stage permitting and siting can help play a role in reducing risks and costs.  The panel will explore how states can lead this process with existing bond financing mechanisms or state transmission authorities. 

• Panelists: Maury Galbraith, Executive Director, Colorado Electric Transmission Association; John Jenks, Director of Energy Market Development, Wyoming Energy Authority; and Josh Smith, Energy Policy Lead, The Abundance Institute  

4:15 p.m.: Panel 4: Colocation 

Energy transmission infrastructure development involves constructing high-capacity lines and substations to transport electricity from generation sites to demand centers.  Colocation with other infrastructure, including highways, broadband networks, or pipelines leverages existing rights-of-way, reduces land use disruptions, and can offer more streamlined permitting.  The panel will discuss how this approach can lower costs, enhance grid reliability, and support the modernization of interconnected energy and communication systems. 

• Panelists: Randy Satterfield, Executive Director, Next Gen Highways; Daly Edmunds, Director of Policy and Outreach, Audubon Rockies; and Dan West, Senior Western Regional Policy Manager, Clean Air Task Force  

5:00 p.m.: Adjourn

Wednesday, October 29

9:15 a.m.: Panel 5: Transmission Projects Shaping the Western Grid 

Major in-progress transmission projects have the potential to reshape the western grid, promising to unlock gigawatts of new resources and provide both reliability and cost stability for ratepayers.  Yet even projects with clear economic benefits face long development timelines and steep hurdles.  This panel will highlight the benefits of these transmission lines, the challenges of planning and permitting, and the workforce needed to build them.  Leaders from utilities and independent developers will share lessons from project developments and explore how to maximize the value of transmission for the West. 

• Panelists: Sarah Webster, Senior Vice President of External Affairs and Market Development, Pattern Energy 

10:15 a.m.: Panel 6: Grid Resilience and Modernization 

Modernizing the electricity grid is essential to improve reliability, resilience, and efficiency as energy demand grows and the system integrates more diverse resources.  Aging infrastructure, extreme weather events, and new load pressures from data centers and distributed energy resources highlight the need for upgrades that go beyond replacement.  This panel will look at how grid enhancing technologies such as advanced conductors, digital monitoring systems, and metering devices can unlock additional transmission capacity, optimize existing assets, and speed the interconnection of new generation without requiring the addition of new transmission infrastructure. 

• Panelists: Sarah Kotwis, Senior Associate, Rocky Mountain Institute; Julia Selker, Executive Director, WATT Coalition; Kate Strickland, Director, Smart Electric Power Alliance; and Peter Brehm, VP Senior Advisor, CTC Global 

11:15 a.m.: Panel 7: Grid Security 

The growing integration of digital technologies creates additional susceptibility to cyberattacks.  The panel will examine how enhancing coordination and strengthening grid security through strategies like hardening physical infrastructure, improving monitoring and detection, and enforcing robust cybersecurity standards and response plans may be effective strategies for improving grid security and improving resilience against potential threats. 

• Panelists: Duane Highley, Chief Executive Officer, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association; Nate Gleason, Cyber and Infrastructure Resilience Program Leader, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

12:00 p.m.: Adjourn