Powering Partnerships 2026 - Some Assembly Required

How to… build capacity across the supply chain

Supply chain has gone from a logistics buzzword to an existential threat experienced by most North American companies inside and outside the electricity sector. How do we navigate tariffs and international delays to ensure that we have what we need, when we need it?

Moderator: Christoper Johnson, Amidyne

Presented by

Ross Thompson, Bruce Power

Ryan Layton, BC Hydro

Arne Wohlschlegel, Siemens

Sponsored by

How to… ensure we get the skills and labour needed

By the time we hit the deadline for doubling the capacity of Canada’s electricity grid, the existing electricity labour force will be nearing, or will be at, retirement age. What are the ways we can bring in new workers, and how can we rethink how we train the next generation of workers?

Presented by

Claude Brule, Algonquin College

How to… finance large projects

It’s time to build… or so we’re told. But… where does the money come from? And what role does capital markets, economic regulators, interest rates, productivity, and geopolitics play when it comes to financing the build? What are the ways large-scale infrastructure can find the cash to get done, without picking the pocket of customers?

Presented by

Gregory Oberti, PwC

Sponsored by

How to… manage the system

Canada’s grid doesn’t need to be expanded, its systems need to be modernized as well. How do you take something that was originally built in an age of railways and make it work for the age of AI?

Presented by

Jamie Caplan, Oracle

Allen Davidov, Environics

Sponsored by

Lunch

How to… sell an invisible product

We flip a switch and the lights come on, but few people see what makes that possible. From electricity to digital and public services, many products we depend on are largely invisible. Join us for a conversation on making complex services understandable, demonstrating their value, and building customer trust.

Presented by

Diana Stephenson, Toronto Hydro

How to... avoid the incumbency trap

Who gets heard shapes what gets built. When incumbents suck up all the oxygen, energy systems fail to evolve. Venture capitalist, author and clean-tech entrepreneur Tom Rand explores "the incumbency trap" -- how policy capture and institutional momentum can crowd out innovation and stifle healthy creative destruction -- and lays out what it takes to ensure new ideas and challengers have room to succeed.

Q&A with Julia Muggeridge, Electricity Canada

Presented by

Tom Rand, ArcTern Associates

How to… Increase regional integration (Unscripted!)

Powering Partnerships "Unscripted" series features two CEOs talking without notes or comms support, just conversation. When provinces have different utilities, regulators and policy priorities, collaboration isn't always straightforward. This discussion explores how stronger regional participation can help turn shared challenges into shared opportunities.

Presented by

Mathieu Johnson, Hydro-Québec

Break

How to… assemble the electricity system of the future

The instructions are clear: build, connect, train and make. But anyone who’s assembled something complex knows the instructions are only the beginning. Assembling the electricity system of the future means fitting together many interdependent pieces. Josée Guibord, Electricity Canada’s new CEO, explores how utilities, governments, Indigenous partners, industry and communities can work to put together Canada’s energy future.

Presented by

Josée Guibord, Electricity Canada

TBD

How to...build

Large builds are extraordinarily complex, and the construction is probably the easiest part. What can be learned from those who have run the gauntlet from an idea to planning to working with government and regulators, finding supplies and so much more?

Sponsored by

How to... support interregional cooperation (Unscripted!)

Atlantic Canada has the resources to power its future. Realizing that potential will require greater coordination, new infrastructure and a shared vision for a more connected, reliable and resilient regional electricity system. Two CEOs from utilities in that region will discuss this... without notes, without comms. Just conversation.

Presented by

Jennifer Williams, Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro

Peter Gregg, Emera Inc.