Powering Partnerships 2026 - Some Assembly Required

Opening

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

Jessica Fisher, Fortis Inc.

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?

Presented by

Ross Thompson, Bruce Power

Ryan Layton, BC Hydro

Arne Wohlschlegel, Siemens Energy

Moderator: Christopher Johnson, Amidyne

Sponsored by

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

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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...build big again

Large builds are extraordinarily complex, and construction is often the easiest part. From concept and planning to permitting, regulation, procurement and public acceptance, major projects face countless opportunities to go off track. So what can we learn from the projects that have failed spectacularly, and those that have succeeded against the odds? Join New York Times bestselling author Dan Gardner on a journey through the hidden realities of megaprojects, and the lessons they hold for building the infrastructure of the future.

Q&A with Craig Walter, Deloitte

Presented by

Dan Gardner, Author, How Big Things Get Done

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

Break

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 energy leaders in that region will discuss this... without notes, without comms. Just conversation.

Presented by

Jennifer Williams, Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro

Peter Gregg, Emera Inc.

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

Unscripted TBD

Powering Partnerships "Unscripted" series features two CEOs talking without notes or comms support, just conversation.

How to... make sense of data centres

Data centres have become one of the hottest topics in energy policy, economic development and electricity planning. Are they a once-in-a-generation opportunity, a challenge to grid reliability, or both? This conversation cuts through the hype to explore what data centres are, what they mean for electricity demand, and how utilities, governments and communities can respond.

Presented by

Pauline McLean, Capital Power

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

Reception

Featuring displays from this year's Electricity Canada Centre of Excellence recipients

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