[] The theme of the NWESS 2026 conference is Powering Progress “Navigating a Transforming Utility Landscape”. NWESS 2026 is a 2 day symposium that focuses on a wide range of topics and provides information on how to best address some of the most pressing energy issues facing our region. The symposium is an industry driven conference; the topics are suggested and voted on by the Industry. The symposium is a combination of presentations and discussions. Key Note Speakers to open the conference - Michel Vargo, Puget Sound Energy Topics to be presented at NWESS 2026 include: - Risk Based Management (wildfire mitigation) - Seismic Transformer Study - Transformer Loading - AI for Power Utilities by NVIDIA & NEETRAC - Preparing for Middle Housing and EPRI Tool for Secondary Design - Load Seer - Top Down and Bottom Up and how you plan for electrification and climate change - Data Center Load Growth -The Opportunity, The Risk and the Reality - Integrated Load Planning Study - EPRI E-Roadmap Tool / NEVI - The Grid Center for Reliable Electricity Delivery (GridCRED) NWESS is sponsored by the electric energy industry in the Pacific Northwest, the IEEE and the Electrical Energy program at the University of Washington. University of Washington, Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Bonneville Power Administration Electric Power Systems Inc Snohomish County PUD Puget Sound Energy Seattle City Light Peninsula Light Tacoma Power Agenda: The NWESS 2026 full program and agenda with speaker biographies and abstacts are available at www.nwess.org Parking: The closest option is the (https://www.washington.edu/maps/#!/central-plaza-garage-c01-c02-c03-c04-c05-c06), entrance on 15th Ave NE and NE 41st. Public transportation: Consider using the link light rail to the (https://www.soundtransit.org/ride-with-us/stops-stations/u-district-station). 1315 NE Campus Parkway, Seattle, Washington, United States, 98105