In its milestone 35th year, the Annual Public Utility Symposium has become a “must-attend” event for those interested in public utility regulation. Make plans to join more than 150 state utility commissioners, consumer advocates, industry executives, consultants, and academics for a day of open, balanced discussions on issues affecting the regulation of the water, electricity, and natural gas industries.
The 2026 Symposium will be held on September 23, 2026, on the University of Missouri campus.
Cracking the Code: Meeting Changing Customer Demands & Expectations
The signals are clear; the panels are set. Are you ready to join us in search of a breakthrough?
Celebrating 35 years, the FRI Symposium has become an anticipated staple in the regulatory industry. Marking this milestone, we channel The Imitation Game—a movie on the high-stakes race to break the Enigma code during WWII. Join us as we examine how the industry can ‘crack the code’ on changing customer demands—specifically balancing affordability, infrastructure needs, reliability, and utility financial health.
Panel I – The Signals: Intercepting the New Reality
Panel Moderator: Dr. Kayla Hahn, Chair, Missouri Public Service Commission
Before a code can be broken, the signals must be intercepted. This session maps the “raw data” hitting the system: massive AI load requests, global supply chain bottlenecks, and the critical water-energy requirements of data centers. By evaluating inputs from hyperscalers, economic developers, and supply chain specialists, we will define the “new reality” of the utility landscape. We will weigh the requirements for regional competitiveness against physical system constraints to find what our new regulatory protocols must solve.
Panel II – The Protocol: Architecting for Reliability & Financial Health
Panel Moderator: (invited) John Reynolds, President, California Public Utilities Commission
With signals named, our specialists must design protocols to manage resource constraints and balance demand with reliability and utility health. This panel introduces three alternative regulatory models: structural ring-fencing to isolate financial risk, consumer-identified resource frameworks for market speed, and cross-sector utility partnerships to optimize resources. We will explore how these alternative structures improve regulatory efficiency and support utility creditworthiness without compromising system integrity.
Panel III – Tactical Breakthroughs: Breaking the Affordability Code
Panel Moderator: David Springe, Executive Director, National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates
Even the best mechanisms need a tactical breakthrough. We will explore the implications of hyperscale growth and how alternative cost allocation models might affect affordability, equity, and economic value. What approaches do we have to protect low-income customers, while modernizing infrastructure, and fueling regional development?
Panel IV – Strategic Command from the C-suite: Leading the Four Pillars
Panel Moderator: Sue Kelly, Member, Board of Trustees, North American Electric Reliability Corporation
This final mission briefing brings together C-suite leadership to interpret the signals and deploy decoded strategies. This roundtable synchronizes the four pillars of modern utility management: affordability, infrastructure needs, reliability, and financial health. Leaders will share their strategies for ‘cracking the code’ of the modern regulatory compact. Their focus: ensuring company codebooks adapt to solve for supply chain resilience, system stability, creditworthiness, and resource adequacy.
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About the Symposium
Started in 1992, the Annual Public Utility Symposium is FRI’s hallmark program. Held in September each year, the Symposium draws over 150 state utility commissioners, consumer advocates, industry executives, consultants, and academics to have open, balanced discussions about current issues affecting regulation in the water, electricity, and natural gas industries.
The FRI Public Utility Symposium is unique in that each year’s theme, topics, and speakers are determined by members of FRI’s Advisory Board, which is comprised of regulators, utility executives, and state consumer advocates. This helps ensure the program is timely and relevant to issues facing regulators across the country and across all our industry groups. It also helps ensure that all voices are represented. The program promotes a conversational format, including engagement with attendees.
In addition to a day full of lively discussion around pressing issues, the Public Utility Symposium also includes the presentation of FRI’s Crystal Award for Distinguished Service. The award provides an opportunity to recognize excellence and achievement across regulated industries and further promotes the mission and purpose of the FRI – to serve as a neutral environment for the comprehensive examination of sound regulatory policy.
Registration for FRI’s Public Utility Symposium is kept more affordable by the gifts of symposium sponsors. Learn more about sponsorship opportunities and benefits.
