Agenda | Future of Utilities Smart Energy

2026 Agenda

Explore the comprehensive agenda featuring keynote presentations, panel discussions, and innovative startup pitches. Stay ahead of the curve with insights from energy industry leaders and innovators.

Session One: Mapping out the digitalisation framework

09.15 - 09.30

Chair's opening remarks

The state of digital transformation in energy

09.30 - 09.50

Keynote

Exclusive digitalisation insights

09.50 - 10.10

Keynote

Exclusive digitalisation insights

10.10 - 10.30

Keynote

Embedding innovation: applying digital solutions across the energy landscape

Jon Saltmarsh

Chief Technology Officer

Energy Systems Catapult

10.30 - 11.00

Leaders' Forum

The digital frontier: leveraging smart for a resilient energy future

Digital technologies are evolving rapidly, but are energy companies keeping up? Join the UK and Europe’s leading CTOs for a frank discussion on the challenges, opportunities and hard lessons of delivering transformation at pace, and what whole-system integration looks like in practice.

Find out how energy companies are actually delivering their digital vision

Interrogate how flexibility can achieve technical as well as commercial feasibility

Discover how digital solutions integrate across the whole system rather than remaining point solutions

Think about the role “smart” can play at providing resilience, and how smart energy must reposition itself

Stève Hervouet

Chief Strategy & Regulation Officer

Smart DCC

Aysegul Tchere

VP Digitalisation Energy Management

Statkraft

Marzia Zafar

Deputy Director of Digitalisation, Innovation and Decentralization

Ofgem

Purple Stage - AI on the grid

11.40 - 12.00

Keynote

Grid planning for and with AI: designing a national framework

Emrah Bingol

Head of Portfolio Reporting & Controls

National Grid

12.00 - 12.20

Keynote

Stop doing AI initiatives. Start building AI foundations

Marcus Gardiner

Client Director - Energy & Utilities

Softwire

12.20 - 12.40

Case Study

Integrating AI into control room operations: an update on the Volta programme

Patrick de Mars

Senior Data Scientist

NESO

12.40 - 13.00

Keynote

AVEVA

13.00 - 13.20

Case Study

AI for Visibility and Forecasting of Renewable Generation

Jamie Bright

DSO Data Science & Development Manager

UK Power Networks

Red Stage - Home Energy Management

11.40 - 11.55

Keynote

Making HEMS mainstream: accelerating consumer adoption

Dave van Westing

Head of Propositions

Eneco

11.55 - 12.15

Keynote

Driving interoperability across Home Energy Management

12.15 - 12.30

Keynote

National Energy Action

Matthew Copeland

Head of Policy and Public Affairs

National Energy Action

12.30 - 12.45

Case Study

Integration behavioural science in energy applications

Chloe Fong

Head of Product - Growth and Innovation

E.ON

12.45 - 13.15

Panel Discussion

Driving the home energy transition: meeting the proposition development challenge

Examine what successful product integration looks like across PV, battery storage, and V2X

Assess how AI optimises home energy management by leveraging weather and behavioural data

Learn what actually drives customer uptake in HEMS, and how to move beyond early adopters

Emma Fletcher

Innovation Director- Octopus Energy Homes

Octopus Energy Group

Tomás Câmara Pestana

Head of Engineering & Asset Management | Iberia B2C Product Development

EDP Group

Pim Buiting

Business Developer HEMS

ENGIE

Green Stage - Transforming digital for 24/7 clean power

11.40 - 12.00

Keynote

Building the digital foundations of an electrified energy system

Alejandro Sánchez Alarcón

Chief Data Officer

Naturgy Renewables

12.00 - 12.20

Keynote

Powering the electrified economy

12.20 - 12.40

Keynote

Ørsted

Jean-Thomas Meyer

Head of Engineering Digitalisation

Orsted

12.40 - 13.10

Panel Discussion

The race for 24/7 clean power

Explore how renewables, storage and flexible demand can deliver 24/7 clean power—and the digital infrastructure required

Assess how digitalisation can turn data centres and other large electricity users into partners in grid flexibility

Examine the digital capabilities that will separate leading generators from the rest by 2030

Suresh Bhaskar

Managing Director Renewables - UK & Ireland

ENGIE

Niamh Quinn

Head of Strategy & IT, Generation Trading

ESB Group

Alex Collina

Digitalization Lead for BESS & Solar

Vattenfall

Workshop Stage - Flexibility workshop

11.40 - 12.50

Interactive workshop

In this interactive session, attendees will dive deeper into the technical elements of flexibility, from asset connectivity, to aggregation, to optimisation and market access.

11.40 - 11.45

Welcome and introductions

11.45 - 12.05

Speaker presentation

Northern Powergrid

Alex Munnery

Commercial Manager - Flexibility

Northern Powergrid

12.05 - 12.20

Speaker presentation

Elexon

Matthew Watson

Senior Market Design / Flexibility Advisor

Elexon

12.20 - 12.50

Moderated discussion

Survey systems architecture across the entire flexibility value chain— where are the biggest integration challenges?

Explore what the business case for flexibility needs to looks like and how best to extract the full value of flexibility

Assess how best to measure flexibility

Purple Stage - Cybersecurity & resilience on the grid

14.25 - 14.45

Keynote

The cybersecurity imperative: maintaining grid security

Euan Birch

Head of Cyber Security Operations

SP Energy Networks

14.45 - 15.05

Keynote

From risk avoidance to risk management: transforming grid strategy

15.05 - 15.25

Case Study

Aquila Lite project: making interoperability a reality

Dr Dong Chen

Manager of R&D Delivery, Academic Engagement and Pipeline

SSEN Transmission

15.25 - 16.00

Panel Discussion

Delivering energy resilience: can smarter technology future-proof energy networks?

· Discover the smart strategies being employed to prepare for increased electricity demand

· Learn how digital twins, real-time monitoring and forecasting are being used to manage volatility from renewable penetration

· Find out what it takes to build a network that can flex with demand rather than react to it

Gunjan Arora

Programme Operations and Controls Lead

Centrica

Oliver Franz

VP European Regulation

E.ON

Gianna Huhn

Head of Future Programmes

SSE

Red Stage - Innovations in energy retail

14.25 - 14.45

Keynote

Octopus Energy

Sam Hancock

Global Head of Data Science

Octopus Energy Group

14.45 - 15.05

Keynote

What's next for conversational AI in energy communications?

15.05 - 15.25

Keynote

What do energy customers actually want, and what can AI tell us?

Aswin Peter

Senior Product Lead - Customer Experience & Product Strategy | Payments & Open Banking Innovation

British Gas

15.25 - 15.45

Keynote

Baringa Partners

15.45 - 16.05

Case Study

Humans in the HEMS

Tom Pakenham

Net Zero Commercial Director

Centrica

Green Stage - Energy trading

14.25 - 14.45

Keynote

Enabling the next energy trading revolution through technology

Fattah Ghicha

Head of Algorithmic Trading Compliance

Centrica

14.45 - 15.05

Keynote

It's all down to data: taking energy trading to the next stage

15.05 - 15.25

Keynote

Laying the foundations for flexibility trading

Marianella Gurney

Head of Platform Strategy & Development

E.ON Next

15.25 - 15.55

Panel Discussion

Redesigning the trading stack: what does a modern technology infrastructure look like?

Understand what modern data infrastructure really looks like at an energy trading desk

Uncover what it will take to achieve truly real-time data feeds

Examine the issues surrounding legacy technologies like ETRM systems and how they can best be managed

Marianella Gurney

Head of Platform Strategy & Development

E.ON Next

Berto Martins

Director for Short Term Asset Optimisation - Europe

EDP Group

Workshop Stage - The data exchange workshop

14.30 - 15.45

Interactive workshop

In this interactive session, attendees will explore how better data access across the energy value chain can unlock new services.

You will leave with a clearer understanding of the technical and governance detail of energy data exchange, and how to support a more resilient, decarbonised energy system.

14.30 - 14.35

Welcome and introductions

14.35 - 14.55

Speaker presentation

14.55 - 15.45

Moderated discussion

Assess the feasibility of open data systems in energy, and what data standards must look like to achieve it

Examine the practicalities of cross-industry collaboration, and the infrastructure needed to make it work

Discuss the opportunities better exchange of energy data can bring and the benefits of energy market integration

Session Four: The future of flexibility markets

16.05 - 16.25

Keynote

Elexon's flexibility vision & action plan: an update

Steven Gough

Head of Flexibility

Elexon

16.25 - 16.45

Keynote

Taking flex to the next level

16.45 - 17.05

Interview

Ofgem: the flexibility roadmap

Nina Klein

Energy Flexibility - Policy and Engineering

Ofgem

17.05 - 17.35

Panel Discussion

Flexibility at scale

Assess strategies to make flexibility market engagement as straightforward as possible

Explore the ecosystem of flex technologies available and find out which point solutions work best where

Examine what a fully mature flexibility market could look like in a 100% clean energy system

Timo Koivumäki

Director Flexibility Technology

Fortum

Iona Penman

Market Design Manager

Octopus Energy Group

Alex Howard

Head of Flexibility Markets

UK Power Networks

Davide Turi

Innovation Lead, Flexibility

E.ON

Session Five: The next stage of digital innovation

09.20 - 09.25

Chair's opening remarks

09.25 - 09.45

Keynote

Exclusive digitalisation insights

09.45 - 10.05

Keynote

Unlocking open energy systems: from filoes to a single source of truth

10.05 - 10.25

Keynote

The Common Data Sharing Infrastructure: an update from NESO

Alexandra Shipulina

Head of Data Sharing Infrastructure & Sector Digitalisation

NESO

10.25 - 11.00

Leaders' Forum

From pilot to deployment: scaling innovation

Join leading innovators from across the energy sector as they share what it really takes to move from promising pilot to full deployment, including the hard-won lessons, the business cases that landed, and the ones that didn’t.

Examine what it means to take calculated risks in a high stakes industry

Uncover strategies to structure pilot projects for scalability and ensure objectives are met

Understand how to build a longer term business case and embed innovation at scale

Simon Duckett

Chief Digital Officer

Sonnedix

Luke Wainwright

Director of Business Development

National Grid Partners

Purple Stage - Grid resilience

12.00 - 12.15

Keynote

Designing the renewable-ready grid

Eric Ahlers

Head of Strategy and Committees

Netze BW

12.15 - 12.35

Keynote

Securing the system in an age of increasingly distributed assets

12.35 - 12.50

Keynote

Open Call for Submissions -3DEN

12.50 - 13.20

Panel Discussion

What's next for grid-edge technologies?

Assess where grid-edge technology is improving visibility across the grid, and where the challenges still lie

Explore how bidirectional flow, microgrids and dynamic load shifting are reshaping network architecture

Examine how far edge computing and autonomous decisioning are redefining what grid-edge devices can do

Eric Ahlers

Head of Strategy and Committees

Netze BW

Nia Lowe

Head of DSO

SP Energy Networks

Matt White

Head of Engineering Compliance & Standards

UK Power Networks

Red Stage - Smart meters

12.00 - 12.20

Keynote

An update from Smart DCC

Chris Lovatt

Chief Executive Officer

Smart DCC

12.20 - 12.40

Keynote

Plugging into smart meter data

12.40 - 12.55

Case Study

HEDNO

George Loukos

Director of Smart Metering

The Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network (HEDNO)

12.55 - 13.10

Panel Discussion

Leveraging energy data for an intelligent energy ecosystem

Examine why so many data sharing infrastructure projects stall at pilot stage and how this can be addressed

Assess the practical steps for cleaning datasets and building reliable data infrastructure as a foundation for AI

Learn what trust frameworks are being tested across the industry and what’s actually working

Gianni Commessatti

Managing Director One B2C

ENGIE Italia

Hugo Grancho Silva

Head of B2C Product Development

EDP

Rob Parvin

Smart Energy Data Architecture Manager

SECCo

Green Stage - Trading

12.00 - 12.20

Keynote

Is power trading ready for the data centre boom?

Della Newton

Head of Structured Origination

VPI

12.20 - 12.40

Keynote

Agentic trading in the power markets: what does the future hold?

12.40 - 13.00

Interview

E.ON

Learn where AI-driven trading is already outperforming humans

Examine the risks brought about by AI in trading and how best to manage them

Consider how far automation can go and what responsible AI governance looks like

Lukas Heuck

Lead Algorithmic Trading

E.ON

Workshop stage - Embedding innovation workshop

12.00 - 13.10

Interactive workshop

In this interactive session, attendees will explore what it truly takes to think innovatively.

12.00 - 12.05

Welcome and introductions

12.05 - 12.25

Speaker presentation

EDP

Tomas Moreno

Head of Innovation Ecosystem

EDP

12.25 - 13.10

Moderated discussion

Assess the structural barriers that prevent innovation from taking root in energy companies, from risk-averse procurement to siloed teams

Examine what it takes to think like a startup as an energy incumbent

Find out how to focus on the business case to ensure projects make it past the pilot phase

Purple Stage - The distributed energy revolution

14.20 - 14.40

Keynote

Distributed energy systems: how close are we to full automation?

Philip Steele

Future Technologies Evangelist

Octopus Energy Group

14.40 - 15.00

Keynote

Designing a behind-the-meter technology with the future in mind

15.00 - 15.40

Panel Discussion

Unlocking the full potential of DERs

Examine how decentralisation is playing out differently across markets and what it takes to integrate point solutions

Interrogate the barriers to DER participation and what needs to change to unlock commercial uptake

Consider how far distributed technologies could reshape the competitive landscape– what could European energy systems look like in 20 years?

Mark Coyle

Services Sales Director

Good Energy

Swetta Coopamah

Head of Smart Energy Systems

BEAMA

Green Stage - Transforming asset management

14.20 - 14.40

Keynote

Accelerating the delivery of generation through digital twins: Powering Wales Renewably

Megan McNeill

Innovation Delivery Manager

NESO

14.40 - 15.00

Keynote

From static SCADA monitoring to real-time optimisation

15.00 - 15.20

Case Study

Independent Power Corporation

Ana Gorgyan

Executive Director

Independent Power Corporation

15.20 - 15.40

Case Study

Managing offshore turbines remotely

Session Eight: The workforce of the future

15.40 - 15.55

Case Study

Accessing skilled, motivated talent: recruiting people leaving custody

Charmane St'Ange

New Business Manager

New Futures Network

15.55 - 16.10

Fireside chat

What does the energy workforce need to look like by 2040?

Discuss how the sector must deal with retirement waves and competition for talent

Examine how AI will displace energy sector jobs, and what a responsible transition looks like

Rebecca Hodgson

Senior Vice President - People Strategy

Statkraft

Shelley Tanner

Head of Human Resources

SSEN Distribution

Session One: Mapping out the digitalisation framework

09.15 - 09.30

Chair's opening remarks

The state of digital transformation in energy

09.30 - 09.50

Keynote

Exclusive digitalisation insights

09.50 - 10.10

Keynote

Exclusive digitalisation insights

10.10 - 10.30

Keynote

Embedding innovation: applying digital solutions across the energy landscape

Jon Saltmarsh

Chief Technology Officer

Energy Systems Catapult

10.30 - 11.00

Leaders' Forum

The digital frontier: leveraging smart for a resilient energy future

Find out how energy companies are actually delivering their digital vision

Interrogate how flexibility can achieve technical as well as commercial feasibility

Discover how digital solutions integrate across the whole system rather than remaining point solutions

Think about the role “smart” can play at providing resilience, and how smart energy must reposition itself

Stève Hervouet

Chief Strategy & Regulation Officer

Smart DCC

Aysegul Tchere

VP Digitalisation Energy Management

Statkraft

Marzia Zafar

Deputy Director of Digitalisation, Innovation and Decentralization

Ofgem

Purple Stage - AI on the grid

11.40 - 12.00

Keynote

Grid planning for and with AI: designing a national framework

Emrah Bingol

Head of Portfolio Reporting & Controls

National Grid

12.00 - 12.20

Keynote

Stop doing AI initiatives. Start building AI foundations

Marcus Gardiner

Client Director - Energy & Utilities

Softwire

12.20 - 12.40

Case Study

Integrating AI into control room operations: an update on the Volta programme

Patrick de Mars

Senior Data Scientist

NESO

12.40 - 13.00

Keynote

AVEVA

13.00 - 13.20

Case Study

AI for Visibility and Forecasting of Renewable Generation

Jamie Bright

DSO Data Science & Development Manager

UK Power Networks

Red Stage - Home Energy Management

11.40 - 11.55

Keynote

Making HEMS mainstream: accelerating consumer adoption

Dave van Westing

Head of Propositions

Eneco

11.55 - 12.15

Keynote

Driving interoperability across Home Energy Management

12.15 - 12.30

Keynote

National Energy Action

Matthew Copeland

Head of Policy and Public Affairs

National Energy Action

12.30 - 12.45

Case Study

Integration behavioural science in energy applications

Chloe Fong

Head of Product - Growth and Innovation

E.ON

12.45 - 13.15

Panel Discussion

Driving the home energy transition: meeting the proposition development challenge

Examine what successful product integration looks like across PV, battery storage, and V2X

Assess how AI optimises home energy management by leveraging weather and behavioural data

Learn what actually drives customer uptake in HEMS, and how to move beyond early adopters

Emma Fletcher

Innovation Director- Octopus Energy Homes

Octopus Energy Group

Tomás Câmara Pestana

Head of Engineering & Asset Management | Iberia B2C Product Development

EDP Group

Pim Buiting

Business Developer HEMS

ENGIE

Green Stage - Transforming digital for 24/7 clean power

11.40 - 12.00

Keynote

Building the digital foundations of an electrified energy system

Alejandro Sánchez Alarcón

Chief Data Officer

Naturgy Renewables

12.00 - 12.20

Keynote

Powering the electrified economy

12.20 - 12.40

Keynote

Ørsted

Jean-Thomas Meyer

Head of Engineering Digitalisation

Orsted

12.40 - 13.10

Panel Discussion

The race for 24/7 clean power

Explore how renewables, storage and flexible demand can deliver 24/7 clean power—and the digital infrastructure required

Assess how digitalisation can turn data centres and other large electricity users into partners in grid flexibility

Examine the digital capabilities that will separate leading generators from the rest by 2030

Suresh Bhaskar

Managing Director Renewables - UK & Ireland

ENGIE

Niamh Quinn

Head of Strategy & IT, Generation Trading

ESB Group

Alex Collina

Digitalization Lead for BESS & Solar

Vattenfall

Workshop Stage - Flexibility workshop

11.40 - 12.50

Interactive workshop

In this interactive session, attendees will dive deeper into the technical elements of flexibility, from asset connectivity, to aggregation, to optimisation and market access.

11.40 - 11.45

Welcome and introductions

11.45 - 12.05

Speaker presentation

Northern Powergrid

Alex Munnery

Commercial Manager - Flexibility

Northern Powergrid

12.05 - 12.20

Speaker presentation

Elexon

Matthew Watson

Senior Market Design / Flexibility Advisor

Elexon

12.20 - 12.50

Moderated discussion

Survey systems architecture across the entire flexibility value chain— where are the biggest integration challenges?

Explore what the business case for flexibility needs to looks like and how best to extract the full value of flexibility

Assess how best to measure flexibility

Purple Stage - Cybersecurity & resilience on the grid

14.25 - 14.45

Keynote

The cybersecurity imperative: maintaining grid security

Euan Birch

Head of Cyber Security Operations

SP Energy Networks

14.45 - 15.05

Keynote

From risk avoidance to risk management: transforming grid strategy

15.05 - 15.25

Case Study

Aquila Lite project: making interoperability a reality

Dr Dong Chen

Manager of R&D Delivery, Academic Engagement and Pipeline

SSEN Transmission

15.25 - 16.00

Panel Discussion

Delivering energy resilience: can smarter technology future-proof energy networks?

· Discover the smart strategies being employed to prepare for increased electricity demand

· Learn how digital twins, real-time monitoring and forecasting are being used to manage volatility from renewable penetration

· Find out what it takes to build a network that can flex with demand rather than react to it

Gunjan Arora

Programme Operations and Controls Lead

Centrica

Oliver Franz

VP European Regulation

E.ON

Gianna Huhn

Head of Future Programmes

SSE

Red Stage - Innovations in energy retail

14.25 - 14.45

Keynote

Octopus Energy

Sam Hancock

Global Head of Data Science

Octopus Energy Group

14.45 - 15.05

Keynote

What's next for conversational AI in energy communications?

15.05 - 15.25

Keynote

What do energy customers actually want, and what can AI tell us?

Aswin Peter

Senior Product Lead - Customer Experience & Product Strategy | Payments & Open Banking Innovation

British Gas

15.25 - 15.45

Keynote

Baringa Partners

15.45 - 16.05

Case Study

Humans in the HEMS

Tom Pakenham

Net Zero Commercial Director

Centrica

Green Stage - Energy trading

14.25 - 14.45

Keynote

Enabling the next energy trading revolution through technology

Fattah Ghicha

Head of Algorithmic Trading Compliance

Centrica

14.45 - 15.05

Keynote

It's all down to data: taking energy trading to the next stage

15.05 - 15.25

Keynote

Laying the foundations for flexibility trading

Marianella Gurney

Head of Platform Strategy & Development

E.ON Next

15.25 - 15.55

Panel Discussion

Redesigning the trading stack: what does a modern technology infrastructure look like?

Understand what modern data infrastructure really looks like at an energy trading desk

Uncover what it will take to achieve truly real-time data feeds

Examine the issues surrounding legacy technologies like ETRM systems and how they can best be managed

Marianella Gurney

Head of Platform Strategy & Development

E.ON Next

Berto Martins

Director for Short Term Asset Optimisation - Europe

EDP Group

Workshop Stage - The data exchange workshop

14.30 - 15.45

Interactive workshop

In this interactive session, attendees will explore how better data access across the energy value chain can unlock new services.

You will leave with a clearer understanding of the technical and governance detail of energy data exchange, and how to support a more resilient, decarbonised energy system.

14.30 - 14.35

Welcome and introductions

14.35 - 14.55

Speaker presentation

14.55 - 15.45

Moderated discussion

Assess the feasibility of open data systems in energy, and what data standards must look like to achieve it

Examine the practicalities of cross-industry collaboration, and the infrastructure needed to make it work

Discuss the opportunities better exchange of energy data can bring and the benefits of energy market integration

Session Four: The future of flexibility markets

16.05 - 16.25

Keynote

Elexon's flexibility vision & action plan: an update

Steven Gough

Head of Flexibility

Elexon

16.25 - 16.45

Keynote

Taking flex to the next level

16.45 - 17.05

Interview

Ofgem: the flexibility roadmap

Nina Klein

Energy Flexibility - Policy and Engineering

Ofgem

17.05 - 17.35

Panel Discussion

Flexibility at scale

Assess strategies to make flexibility market engagement as straightforward as possible

Explore the ecosystem of flex technologies available and find out which point solutions work best where

Examine what a fully mature flexibility market could look like in a 100% clean energy system

Timo Koivumäki

Director Flexibility Technology

Fortum

Iona Penman

Market Design Manager

Octopus Energy Group

Alex Howard

Head of Flexibility Markets

UK Power Networks

Davide Turi

Innovation Lead, Flexibility

E.ON

Session Five: The next stage of digital innovation

09.20 - 09.25

Chair's opening remarks

09.25 - 09.45

Keynote

Exclusive digitalisation insights

09.45 - 10.05

Keynote

Unlocking open energy systems: from filoes to a single source of truth

10.05 - 10.25

Keynote

The Common Data Sharing Infrastructure: an update from NESO

Alexandra Shipulina

Head of Data Sharing Infrastructure & Sector Digitalisation

NESO

10.25 - 11.00

Leaders' Forum

From pilot to deployment: scaling innovation

Examine what it means to take calculated risks in a high stakes industry

Uncover strategies to structure pilot projects for scalability and ensure objectives are met

Understand how to build a longer term business case and embed innovation at scale

Simon Duckett

Chief Digital Officer

Sonnedix

Luke Wainwright

Director of Business Development

National Grid Partners

Purple Stage - Grid resilience

12.00 - 12.15

Keynote

Designing the renewable-ready grid

Eric Ahlers

Head of Strategy and Committees

Netze BW

12.15 - 12.35

Keynote

Securing the system in an age of increasingly distributed assets

12.35 - 12.50

Keynote

Open Call for Submissions -3DEN

12.50 - 13.20

Panel Discussion

What's next for grid-edge technologies?

Assess where grid-edge technology is improving visibility across the grid, and where the challenges still lie

Explore how bidirectional flow, microgrids and dynamic load shifting are reshaping network architecture

Examine how far edge computing and autonomous decisioning are redefining what grid-edge devices can do

Eric Ahlers

Head of Strategy and Committees

Netze BW

Nia Lowe

Head of DSO

SP Energy Networks

Matt White

Head of Engineering Compliance & Standards

UK Power Networks

Red Stage - Smart meters

12.00 - 12.20

Keynote

An update from Smart DCC

Chris Lovatt

Chief Executive Officer

Smart DCC

12.20 - 12.40

Keynote

Plugging into smart meter data

12.40 - 12.55

Case Study

HEDNO

George Loukos

Director of Smart Metering

The Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network (HEDNO)

12.55 - 13.10

Panel Discussion

Leveraging energy data for an intelligent energy ecosystem

Examine why so many data sharing infrastructure projects stall at pilot stage and how this can be addressed

Assess the practical steps for cleaning datasets and building reliable data infrastructure as a foundation for AI

Learn what trust frameworks are being tested across the industry and what’s actually working

Gianni Commessatti

Managing Director One B2C

ENGIE Italia

Hugo Grancho Silva

Head of B2C Product Development

EDP

Rob Parvin

Smart Energy Data Architecture Manager

SECCo

Green Stage - Trading

12.00 - 12.20

Keynote

Is power trading ready for the data centre boom?

Della Newton

Head of Structured Origination

VPI

12.20 - 12.40

Keynote

Agentic trading in the power markets: what does the future hold?

12.40 - 13.00

Interview

E.ON

Learn where AI-driven trading is already outperforming humans

Examine the risks brought about by AI in trading and how best to manage them

Consider how far automation can go and what responsible AI governance looks like

Lukas Heuck

Lead Algorithmic Trading

E.ON

Workshop stage - Embedding innovation workshop

12.00 - 13.10

Interactive workshop

In this interactive session, attendees will explore what it truly takes to think innovatively.

12.00 - 12.05

Welcome and introductions

12.05 - 12.25

Speaker presentation

EDP

Tomas Moreno

Head of Innovation Ecosystem

EDP

12.25 - 13.10

Moderated discussion

Assess the structural barriers that prevent innovation from taking root in energy companies, from risk-averse procurement to siloed teams

Examine what it takes to think like a startup as an energy incumbent

Find out how to focus on the business case to ensure projects make it past the pilot phase

Purple Stage - The distributed energy revolution

14.20 - 14.40

Keynote

Distributed energy systems: how close are we to full automation?

Philip Steele

Future Technologies Evangelist

Octopus Energy Group

14.40 - 15.00

Keynote

Designing a behind-the-meter technology with the future in mind

15.00 - 15.40

Panel Discussion

Unlocking the full potential of DERs

Examine how decentralisation is playing out differently across markets and what it takes to integrate point solutions

Interrogate the barriers to DER participation and what needs to change to unlock commercial uptake

Consider how far distributed technologies could reshape the competitive landscape– what could European energy systems look like in 20 years?

Mark Coyle

Services Sales Director

Good Energy

Swetta Coopamah

Head of Smart Energy Systems

BEAMA

Green Stage - Transforming asset management

14.20 - 14.40

Keynote

Accelerating the delivery of generation through digital twins: Powering Wales Renewably

Megan McNeill

Innovation Delivery Manager

NESO

14.40 - 15.00

Keynote

From static SCADA monitoring to real-time optimisation

15.00 - 15.20

Case Study

Independent Power Corporation

Ana Gorgyan

Executive Director

Independent Power Corporation

15.20 - 15.40

Case Study

Managing offshore turbines remotely

Session Eight: The workforce of the future

15.40 - 15.55

Case Study

Accessing skilled, motivated talent: recruiting people leaving custody

Charmane St'Ange

New Business Manager

New Futures Network

15.55 - 16.10

Fireside chat

What does the energy workforce need to look like by 2040?

Discuss how the sector must deal with retirement waves and competition for talent

Examine how AI will displace energy sector jobs, and what a responsible transition looks like

Rebecca Hodgson

Senior Vice President - People Strategy

Statkraft

Shelley Tanner

Head of Human Resources

SSEN Distribution

2026 Agenda at a Glance

Day 1
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Mapping out the digitalisation blueprint

The data ontology approach | Embedding innovation | Leveraging smart for a resilient future

PURPLE STAGE

AI on the grid

Grid planning for and with AI | Integrating AI into the control room | Developing digital twins

RED STAGE

Home Energy Management

Making HEMS mainstream | Driving interoperability | PV, battery storage, V2X

GREEN STAGE

Digitalising clean energy generation

Updating digital infrastructure in nuclear | The race to energy independence | Making utility-scale generation digitalised

WORKSHOP STAGE

Flexibility

Discuss the challenges of flexibility with your peers in an interactive environment

PURPLE STAGE

Resilience on the grid

The cybersecurity imperative | From risk avoidance to risk management | Future-proofing with smart technology

RED STAGE

AI in energy retail

The rise of chatbots | What customers actually want | Using AI to reduce business costs

GREEN STAGE

Energy trading

The next stage for energy trading | Laying the foundations for flexibility trading | Unlocking real-time data

WORKSHOP STAGE

The data exchange

Discuss the feasibility of open data systems with your peers in an interactive environment

The future of flexibility markets

Taking flex to the next level | Flexibility at scale | Making access as straightforward as possible

After party

Day 2
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The next stage of digital innovation in energy

Unlocking open energy systems | Driving a tech revolution in energy | From pilot to deployment

Women in Energy Tech Brunch

PURPLE STAGE

Network planning and maintenance

A renewable-ready grid | Towards integrated grid planning | Grid-edge technologies

RED STAGE

Smart meters

Plugging into smart meter data | Creating an intelligent system | Leveraging energy data for an intelligent system

GREEN STAGE

Trading

AI's tangible impact | AI in high-risk trading environments | Optimising AI in trading

WORKSHOP STAGE

Embedding innovation

Discuss how to embed a culture of innovation in energy with your peers in an interactive environment

PURPLE STAGE

The distributed energy revolution

How close are we to full automation | Behind-the-meter technology | Unlocking the potential of DERs

GREEN STAGE

Transforming generation

Accelerating delivery through digital twins | Real-time optimisation | Powering offshore turbines remotely

The workforce of the future

Closing the green skills gap | The energy workforce of the future | Looking ahead to 2040

Take a look at the cutting-edge content we’re showcasing on the Future of Utilities: Smart Energy stage this year!