2026 Conference Sessions

Opening Keynote

January 20, 2026

08:30 AM - 10:00 AM

Exhibit Hall - Hall 1

Keynote

All badge holders are eligible to attend.

The POWERGEN Opening Keynote will bring together top executives from CPS Energy, Sargent & Lundy and NVIDIA for a state-of-the-industry discussion on market forces, reliability pressures and the accelerating impact of AI. Additional presentations from Westinghouse, Google Cloud and EPRI will examine how digital tools and emerging electricity needs are shaping the future of power generation planning and operations.

The session opens with an executive panel examining how utilities, engineering firms and technology providers are responding to rapid load growth, shifting investment needs and evolving regulatory expectations. The discussion will highlight emerging operational risks and the technologies influencing project planning and fleet readiness.

A joint presentation from Westinghouse and Google Cloud will explore how advanced digital tools can improve schedule confidence, streamline decision-making and support the next generation of clean, firm power. Presenters will discuss how data-driven approaches are shaping construction strategies and long-term asset performance.

EPRI will close the keynote with insights on how emerging demands — including AI-driven growth — may influence future generation planning, operational strategies and overall system reliability.

Opening Keynote Sponsored by:

ANA

Speakers

Victor Suchodolski, Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer - Sargent & Lundy

Raiford Smith, Global Market Lead for Power and Energy - Google Cloud

Rudy Garza, President & CEO - CPS Energy

Mike Caravaggio, Vice President, Energy Supply, Fleet Reliability - EPRI

David Dickert, Executive Vice President of Sales - ANA

Lou Martinez Sancho, CTO - Westinghouse Electric Company

Ahsan Yousufzai, Global Director Energy - NVIDIA

POWERGEN has been really helpful in identifying the industry scale of what’s going on behind the scenes, and how that affects each and every one of us across different divisions, levels, and inputs in the industry itself [...] That’s something not everybody gets to experience at other conferences.

Sarah White

Associate Electric Co-op, Inc.

The most valuable part of POWERGEN is networking with peers, walking the exhibit floor, and seeing all the activity and energy across the industry. For me, the level of engagement is a strong indication that the future of this industry is in a good place, and I’m excited to be representing this event.

Raj Katamreddy

Vistra

I love the networking. Everyone who’s part of POWERGEN is here, and it’s great to collaborate, meet new vendors in the market, see who’s doing what, and learn about the projects that are happening. It’s a great place for intel.

Sarah Hoelzen

The Williams Companies, Inc

POWERGEN is really important to us. It's an ideal opportunity to come meet existing customers and partners, meet new customers and partners, and showcase the new products that we bring to market.

Sarah Nicholls

STAMFORD | AVK

POWERGEN gives us the opportunity to meet prospective engineering firms, EPCs, and customers, and to share insight into our capabilities in manufacturing centrifugal pumps and supporting the nuclear industry.

Santosh KulkarnI

ANDRITZ

POWERGEN allows us to connect with all of our peers and it brings in folks that are maybe not quite familiar with everything in power, and they get to come to one place and see it all in one place and make new connections.

Sammy Haggar

Wildcat Power Gen