Inside the IEEE PES T&D Conference and Expo
Key Highlights
- The conference theme reflects the industry's focus on proactively designing resilient and reliable power grids amidst growing challenges.
- It features over 900 exhibitors and multiple themed stages, offering attendees hands-on demonstrations and high-quality technical sessions on innovation, data centers, and grid resilience.
- ComEd, as the host utility, will participate actively through leadership panels, technical tours, and showcasing local infrastructure projects, emphasizing real-world applications.
- The event balances education and networking, providing technical content alongside opportunities for collaboration and industry relationship building.
- Key challenges addressed include severe weather, cybersecurity, aging infrastructure, and load growth, with a focus on innovative solutions and industry best practices.
As the electric power industry confronts a convergence of pressures—from rapid load growth and electrification to aging infrastructure and intensifying extreme weather—the need to strengthen grid reliability and resilience has never been more urgent. Against this backdrop, the 2026 IEEE PES T&D Conference and Exposition will bring together engineers, utility leaders, and technology providers from around the world to explore practical solutions and emerging innovations shaping the future grid.
Hosted by ComEd and held in Chicago, this year’s event is expected to draw more than 15,000 attendees and over 900 exhibitors, underscoring both the scale of industry transformation and the importance of collaboration. With a theme centered on “Powering Reliability, Engineering Resilience,” the conference aims to highlight how utilities are moving beyond maintaining the grid to actively designing systems that can withstand—and adapt to—new challenges.
In this Q&A, Jackie Peer, director of industry outreach for the event steering committee, and Carla Frieh, co-chair of the local organizing committee, discuss how the conference has evolved, what attendees can expect this year, and why the conversations happening in Chicago are especially timely for utilities navigating today’s complex operating environment.
Q: What is this year’s theme and how was it chosen? How is it relevant for this year?
Carla Frieh: The theme for the 2026 IEEE PES T&D Conference is “Powering Reliability, Engineering Resilience.” This year’s theme reflects what our industry is facing now. Utilities and those in the energy space are seeing growing load, increasing electrification, aging infrastructure and more frequent extreme weather—all of which requires forward looking solutions for customers and those who rely upon the grid. Reliability isn’t a given—it’s something utilities have to deliberately design, operate, and continuously improve. The theme was shaped collaboratively by IEEE PES and the local organizing committee to focus the conference on how we engineer resilience into the grid of the future.
Jackie Peer: The PES T&D Program Committee, led by Kate Cummings of NIPSCO and Shikhar Pandey of GridCo Group, wanted a theme that underscores the need for the industry to move forward—faster and with greater purpose. We’re all navigating unprecedented challenges... To meet these pressures, power and energy professionals need access to the latest tools, technologies, and engineering advancements.
That’s exactly what this year’s T&D Conference provides. Attendees will be able to see, experience, and discuss the innovations that will help transform tomorrow’s grid into today’s reality. It’s a theme that resonates deeply with the moment we’re in.
Q: How did IEEE PES T&D Conference get started, and how has it evolved over time?
Peer: The IEEE PES T&D Conference traces its roots back to 1964, when it began as the IEEE Underground Distribution Conference. As industry expanded and transmission and distribution technologies advanced, the event evolved as well. In 1984, when it was held in Kansas City, the name was officially changed to the IEEE PES Transmission & Distribution Conference to reflect that broader scope.
Since then, the conference has grown alongside the power industry’s own transformation, which is shaped by the rise of natural gas, nuclear generation, and now modern renewables, electrification, and digitalization. The exhibit floor has expanded significantly as well. This year we expect more than 800 exhibitors representing over 50 countries, which speaks to how global and interconnected the T&D landscape has become.
Q: ComEd is the host utility; as the host, how did ComEd contribute to planning, and what involvement will ComEd have at the show?
Frieh: As the 2026 host utility, ComEd has been deeply involved in planning the conference from the beginning, and we’re excited to host over 15,000 engineers and energy sector leaders from around the world this May. We’re leading the local organizing committee in partnership with IEEE Power and Energy Society, which means helping shape everything from the technical program to the overall attendee experience.
As host, ComEd is excited to highlight the power of the grid and our infrastructure serving northern Illinois on center stage with hosting technical tours of ComEd facilities so attendees can see how solutions are applied in practice, welcoming attendees to Chicago through events like the Welcome Reception and Opening Session.
Q: Are there new features, initiatives, or formats being introduced this year?
Peer: We’re continuing to build on the success of the exhibit‑floor stage presentations, which have become a popular way to bring technical content directly to attendees. This year, we have four themed stages—Innovation, Data Centers, Grid Edge, and Resilience & Renewables—each supported by an industry partner: Hitachi, Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Siemens, and GE Verona. Their involvement allows us to offer high‑quality sessions right on the show floor, making it easy for attendees to engage with new ideas as they explore the exhibits.
We’ve also expanded sponsorship opportunities to help exhibitors highlight their brands and technologies, while still ensuring the event remains strongly connected to the IEEE Power & Energy Society identity.
And finally, the PES Local Organizing Committee has a few surprises planned for the Monday evening opening reception—so attendees can expect a memorable start to the week.
Q: Will there be special speakers or featured sessions involving ComEd as host?
Yes! ComEd leaders and subject‑matter experts will be actively involved throughout the conference. That includes participation in the Opening Session, multiple Super Sessions, and technical discussions on topics like reliability, resilience, large‑load integration, grid automation, and resource adequacy. The line up includes our President and CEO, Gil Quiniones, who will be discussing Carbon Goals vs Grid Reality, Dale Player, VP of Engineering discussing the future of grid automation and me—sharing practical experiences in achieving resilience.
For us, it’s about contributing meaningfully to industry dialogue and sharing lessons learned from operating a large, complex grid every day. ComEd is preparing for evolving customer needs and future grid demands. Leaders from across the company will join panel discussions to showcase how we’re planning and modernizing the grid to meet this moment. Our new Long-Range Strategy outlines the investments required to maintain reliability and resiliency, integrate more renewables, and meet state policy goals—all while keeping energy affordable. Achieving this vision will depend on engineering solutions, technology and talent that support the grid for the next decade and beyond.
Q: How does the event balance education and networking?
Peer: The T&D Conference does a great job of blending education with networking. On the learning side, you can dive into technical content in so many ways—through sessions, panels, tutorials, and the stage presentations on the exhibit floor. And a lot of education actually happens right in the booths. Many companies, including SEL, give technical presentations and offer hands‑on demos throughout the week, so attendees can see solutions in action and ask questions on the spot.
At the same time, the event naturally brings people together. The exhibit hall, receptions, and the casual conversations between sessions make it easy to connect with colleagues, customers, and new partners. You’re constantly running into people you know or people you’ve been meaning to meet, and those conversations often turn into real collaborations.
So, it never feels like you’re choosing between education and networking—they happen side by side, which is one of the reasons this event is so valuable.
Q: What challenges or opportunities in the industry does this year’s event address?
Peer: This year’s event is centered on the challenges that are hitting the industry all at once—more severe weather, growing cybersecurity risks, aging infrastructure, and major load growth from data centers, electrification, and AI. Utilities and manufacturers are being asked to strengthen the grid while also moving faster than ever.
At the same time, there’s real opportunity. Innovations in automation, protection, renewables integration, and grid‑edge technologies are accelerating, and the conference brings all these solutions together in one place. It’s a chance for attendees to compare ideas, learn what’s working, and collaborate on how to build a more resilient and reliable grid.
Frieh: The 2026 conference directly addresses challenges utilities are dealing with every day. Joining up with our peer utilities for industry events like the IEEE T&D Conference is the best way to share best practices and key learning from around the world, as we are all facing challenges and opportunities to serve our customers with efficient, reliable and resilient power systems.
Q: What are you personally most excited about this year?
Frieh: I’m most excited about the quality of the conversations. The Super Sessions bring together people who are making real decisions—utility operators, regulators, and technology leaders—who can speak candidly about what it takes to keep the grid reliable.
I’m also excited about showcasing Chicago and ComEd’s grid. We are partnering with IEEE to host a variety of technical tours and local programming for attendees to see how resilience and innovation are applied in the field, not just discussed on slides.
Peer: I’m really excited about the opportunity to connect with people—and to help people connect with each other. That’s always been one of my favorite parts of the T&D Conference. Chicago has been a strong location for us in the past with record‑setting attendance, and I’m optimistic we’ll see that same level of energy this year.
Q: Anything else you’d like to highlight or say directly to utilities considering attending in Chicago?
Frieh: I would tell others in the power industry that this conference is worth the time. This year’s event is staged to be the biggest IEEE PES T&D event yet, and there is a great line up of sessions, panels and attendees. The conference is grounded in real-world experience that brings together utility peers who are facing the same challenges.
This approach helps all of us strengthen our grid performance today, while building value and collaborating on future concepts to support the exponential change we will see to the utility system in the coming years.
Visit https://ieeet-d.org/ to register.
About the Author
Nikki Chandler
Group Editorial Director, Energy
Nikki is Market Content Director for the Endeavor Business Media Energy group, which includes T&D World, EnergyTech and Microgrid Knowledge media brands. She has 30 years of experience as an award-winning business-to-business editor, with 24 years of it covering the electric utility industry. She started out as an editorial intern with T&D World while finishing her degree, then joined Mobile Radio Technology and RF Design magazines. She returned to T&D World as an online editor in 2002, and took over as managing editor in 2017, then market content director in 2023. She has contributed to several publications over the past 30 years, including Waste Age, Wireless Review, Power Electronics Technology, and Arkansas Times. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a B.S. in journalism from the University of Kansas.