2026 WDEA Annual Membership Meeting in Minot

The program covers the current state of lignite, new technologies and innovation, future growth and job opportunities, federal energy policy for North Dakota, legislative campaigns, grid needs, lignite research and development, critical-minerals research, and data-center opportunities for coal country. Mine and plant updates include Dakota Gasification Company; Antelope Valley Station/Leland Olds; Milton R. Young Plant; Coyote Station; Coal Creek Station; Coteau Properties Company; Falkirk Mining Company; Coyote Creek Mining Company; and BNI Coal, Ltd. The agenda also includes a Lignite Council awards presentation for reclamation, safety, distinguished service, contractors and suppliers, public service, and lignite ambassadors. Mine & Plant Updates and Social & Individual Company Sessions are marked members-only. The stated intended audience includes company employees, mine and plant workers, contractors, suppliers, industry partners, students, educators, retirees, and industry supporters.

The agenda covers economic development, recent business expansions, and the future of energy production and costs. Sessions address women's experiences and challenges in manufacturing; the 2026 General Election and its potential effects on the 2027 legislative session and WVMA legislative agenda; and Helsing, an autonomous systems manufacturer based in Berkeley County. Other discussions cover long-term employer-employee relationships and retaining a multigenerational workforce; moving a new plant from prototype to full-scale production, including permitting, supply-chain challenges, and workforce development; and West Virginia University's NSF RETI grant, an industrial energy innovation hub focused on grid management, storage, cybersecurity, and reliability, along with programs from the WVU Industrial Extension. A final energy-sector discussion examines policy and public opinion on maintaining versus pursuing new markets and the effects of an anti-growth stance on development and economic growth in West Virginia.

Sessions address electric cooperative governance, strategic planning, and emerging industry issues. A discussion covers challenges, opportunities, and successes for electric cooperatives; other sessions examine the U.S. economy, financial markets, and electric industry outlook and their effects on cooperatives. General-session themes include planning for goals, assessing risk, preparing for adversity, and the role of heroism and service. Breakouts cover questions directors should ask about data centers, preventing electrical accidents, communicating with consumer-members, and artificial intelligence and the future of energy. Electrical-safety demonstrations illustrate the risks of high-voltage electricity and the equipment and practices used to protect cooperative employees and the public. The closing session includes an update from NRECA’s board of directors.

A conference and trade show focused on the Bakken and Williston Basin, featuring industry speakers and vendor exhibits.

NARUC’s capstone meeting includes a year-end summary from NARUC President Ann Rendahl, topics across utility sectors, and installation of the organization’s new president and officers. The program covers utility affordability, customer assistance, ratemaking, large-load growth, data centers, demand response, and flexible load; transmission capacity, advanced transmission technologies, permitting reform, and infrastructure investment; coal-plant options, nuclear energy, natural gas, and pipeline safety; and grid resilience, distributed energy resources, virtual power plants, battery storage, and community microgrids. Other sessions address AI-enabled extreme-weather preparedness, cybersecurity in water and wastewater systems, operational technology for gas and water leak detection, telecommunications network transitions, utility data and customer service infrastructure, water infrastructure investment, federal-state energy regulation, and regulatory impacts of proposed permitting legislation. A workshop examines methods for evaluating advanced transmission technologies, including dynamic line ratings, advanced power flow controls, and advanced conductors. The agenda also includes committee business meetings and general sessions on utility infrastructure resilience and community-based resilience investments. Some meetings are closed to nonmembers or restricted to invitees.

The conference combines superintendent and engineer meetings for presentations on new technology, standards, and industry regulations, alongside a joint product show featuring solutions from digital tools to bucket trucks. Agenda topics include automation, leadership, field testing for metering accuracy and hidden losses, AI tools for engineering and operations, advanced distribution operations and faster restoration, and relay testing. A group-led roundtable covers artificial intelligence in electric cooperatives, contractor requirements, dispatching, employee retention, right-of-way and line-extension policies, pole loading and guying, BESS, data center loads, electronic breakers, safety, equipment, and automation. Additional listed issues include ODOT projects, ground-grid and relay advancements, vegetation and asset management using LiDAR and drone mapping, protection engineering, utility construction coordination and constructability, and independent construction oversight and QA/QC. The business meeting includes the election of 2027 officers and new business.

The regional meeting brings electric cooperative leaders together to discuss regional priorities, emerging trends, innovative strategies, and energy policy through NRECA’s member resolutions process. The meeting’s general format includes regional business and resolutions meetings, along with targeted pre-conference education. Regional meetings are open to NRECA members, including employees, directors, and consultants.

The August 31 member sessions cover RHA advocacy priorities, proposed Washington and Oregon legislative priorities, technical committee work, and a 2026 electrolytic hydrogen case study on long-duration seasonal storage using hydropower, electrolyzers, pipeline connections, and fuel-cell power production. The technical update also addresses waste-to-energy pathways, including technologies for producing hydrogen from waste feedstocks. Other sessions cover transportation-market development, Toyota fuel-cell solutions, and member project and commercial updates. A Douglas County PUD facility tour focuses on electrolyzer systems, hydrogen storage infrastructure, operational safety, and deployment in rural and utility-scale settings. The conference program examines state and local hydrogen policy, Washington’s market strategy, California infrastructure lessons, customer-centered transportation solutions, hydrogen fueling networks, workforce and economic development, and regional transportation markets. Sessions also address electrolysis opportunities amid generation constraints and rising power prices; hydrogen production from wastewater, forestry biomass, and landfill gas; and local innovations for electric and gas systems. The final program day covers alternative fuels and global energy markets, public-private partnerships for transportation infrastructure and fuels, climate policy and energy affordability, and emerging energy technologies including hydrogen, geothermal, nuclear, and biomass. A vehicle and equipment expo and a community celebration are also listed. The August 31 sessions are for members; the facility tour is open to the public, and the community celebration is free and open to the public.

Hosted by WGA Chair and Hawaiʻi Governor Josh Green, the meeting includes a discussion of Pacific prosperity and U.S. regional security, including how states, territories, and the federal government can identify and mitigate emerging risks, strengthen regional resilience, and advance shared security and prosperity. A panel on energy infrastructure examines how states, developers, and local leaders can align large projects with growing electricity demand while supporting local economies and delivering lasting benefits to host communities. Other agenda topics include workplace substance misuse, mental health, and worker safety under the Health Beyond Healthcare initiative; and tourism policies and educational campaigns that help communities honor their homelands and heritage while supporting sustainable economic development.