The AEIC Member's Strategy Summit is the room where senior utility executives turn shared insight into coordinated execution. The inaugural summit convened in Boulder, March 30–31, 2026 — amid load growth, capital uncertainty, supply-chain constraints, and workforce pressure.
Time is fixed. Energy is a choice. The 2026 summit brought senior utility executives together at a moment of real industry pressure, and they kept returning to one challenge: translating insight into coordinated execution amid load growth, capital uncertainty, supply-chain constraints, and workforce strain.
What emerged in Boulder was not a single prescription but a set of recurring themes and questions where peer exchange helps utilities move faster, and with more confidence. AEIC's role is to convene those conversations, surface the shared signals, and let members decide what is most relevant for their organizations.
The AEIC model rests on three convictions: that peer exchange beats expert briefings; that the most valuable development happens when leaders bring their real problems into a room with people who understand the stakes; and that sustained engagement — not one-time events — is what produces lasting change.
Steve Hauser, Chief Executive Officer, AEIC
Participants returned to a connected set of themes — closely linked in practice, even if each utility prioritizes them differently. Each points to where peer exchange can become a shared framework, decision tool, or case library over time.
Standard load classification framework — contracted, conditional, speculative — plus template service agreements and clear expectations on timing and flexibility.
A decision matrix linking load certainty to capital commitment thresholds, with risk thresholds aligned across finance, planning, and operations.
Shared language for commitments, timelines, and operational flexibility — plus curtailment options and case studies of large-load engagements that worked and didn't.
An industry view of transformer, equipment, and EPC lead times, with standard language for communicating constraints and a sequencing framework for prioritization.
A programmatic delivery model replacing the project-by-project approach, with defined roles and governance across generation, transmission, and customer programs.
Aggregated demand signals across participating utilities and a standard approach to OEMs and EPCs, with an early-engagement model for long-lead equipment.
A reference model for IT/OT alignment and the minimum data required for load validation and system planning under uncertainty.
Recommended approaches for staged approvals, linking approval to load-certainty levels and articulating the tradeoffs between speed, cost, and risk.
A joint planning-operations review process that puts real operational constraints into planning models, with feedback loops back into long-range planning.
Documented decisions utilities made differently — what risks were accepted, what processes changed, and what others can adopt quickly.
Ideas participants raised on the Day-Two roundtable — not a finalized workplan, but the most specific requests from the room.
Standardized metrics defined collectively by committees and owned by the peer network — not purchased from consultants each utility hires separately to do the same work.
Committee agendas visible to all members, not just those already on the committee, so members can see where their people should be engaged.
A report utilities can use internally to show leadership the value of AEIC membership and justify the budget and time.
A subcommittee focused on operational excellence around large-load integration, systematizing the learnings across the network.
A working group or task force on nuclear generation — flagged by multiple participants as getting hot fast with no dedicated peer forum.
Specific, working AI use cases shared across the network — and honest accounts of what failed, so others don't repeat it.
The summit themes point to outputs AEIC can convene, document, and publish to the member portal as member interest and participation take shape.
The full aggregated commitments from Boulder, organized by theme — shared accountability without individual attribution.
A standard classification framework utilities can adopt or adapt, validated against real planning environments and published to the member portal.
A practical tool linking load-certainty levels to capital commitment thresholds — built for planning teams, defensible to regulators and boards.
An industry-level view of equipment lead times, EPC availability, and supply chain constraints, updated as conditions change.
Documented engagements, successful and failed, with analysis of what drove the outcome.
The Boulder ROI exercise built a probability-discounted value framework so utility leaders can measure the returns from a peer network — and communicate them to boards, finance teams, and regulators with the same rigor they apply to capital.
in member-reported, probability-weighted value, captured from 21 executive tables at the 2026 Strategy Summit. A conservative floor, and even a single active representative returns more than the cost of membership.
The cost of decisions made with incomplete information and then revised. Peer exchange surfaces what others already learned the hard way, compressing the learning curve.
Procurement, capital sequencing, and vendor negotiations informed by peer intelligence — knowing what others paid, what worked, and what failed before you commit.
Regulatory, operational, and reputational risks identified and mitigated through peer knowledge of a supply-chain failure or regulatory approach you'd otherwise meet alone.
Time-to-decision compressed by access to proven frameworks and peer-validated approaches. Not reinventing what others have already built.
Dr. Elizabeth Cook, Vice President, Technical Strategy
Leadership pipelines aren't built in a single summit, and operational excellence isn't achieved through a single framework. AEIC offers sustained engagement — peer exchange, working sessions, published tools, and a network of senior leaders working on the same problems you are.
AEIC is exploring a Delegate Track that creates additional pathways for member organizations to involve multiple leaders across active workstreams — connecting summit themes to internal learning, leadership development, and follow-through.
A new recognition program announced at the summit, honoring the leaders and volunteers who turn peer knowledge into operational excellence. Pilot tracking begins now; full launch spring 2027.
Achievement Awards & CHAMPOne utility membership opens the Strategy Summit and every other committee and program to your whole organization.
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