Executive Forums

Meets biannually in March + September. This biannual forum provides a unique opportunity for utility CIOs to come together in an exclusive peer-to-peer environment to network and share best practices. Participation is restricted to Chief Information Officers or senior leaders responsible for the management of their utility’s technology and information systems at WEI member energy companies.

Meets biannually in February + September. This biannual forum provides an exclusive, collaborative space for leaders in corporate communications to discuss these challenges and exchange best practices. Participants will gain a new understanding of executive communications strategies, employee communication, branding for recruitment and onboarding, and crisis communication through interactive sessions and roundtable discussions led by WEI member energy companies. This program is intended for corporate communications senior leaders, directors, and managers.

Meets annually in the spring. This annual executive forum meets in person and is focused on conversation interspersed with presentations on topics which include, but aren’t limited to, call center leadership, IT strategies, and workforce solutions. The small size of this program provides a unique environment for sharing with peers and building long-term relationships. This program is intended for executive level leadership responsible for customer strategy and policy and is open to WEI member energy companies.

Meets biannually in May + November. This collaborative atmosphere, combined with the attendee’s high level of expertise, leads to complex and analytical discussions regarding long-term forecasts, international energy demand, H2/RNG/LNG updates, the price of carbon, renewable developments, electric/gas convergence issues, and the influence of storage and infrastructure projects. This program is intended for senior level management who are responsible for energy supply, storage, transportation, trading, marketing, transmission, or business development. Electric utilities with gas generation are encouraged to attend.

This biannual forum provides an opportunity to collaborate and share information with other utilities on how they are approaching facilities, office space, and operations building management. Discussions address a variety of areas, including space and occupancy standards, building maintenance/improvements, technology integration, and equipment management. Additional conversations around long-term strategy may include workplace transformation efforts, adapting to hybrid work models, electrification of fleets, and achieving sustainability goals.

Meets biannually in February/March + September. As the legal landscape of the utility industry continues to change in the face of decarbonization, regulatory policy, budget pressures, and risk assessment, this biannual forum provides a unique and collaborative space for utility General Counsels to share new insights and opportunities through networking and roundtable discussions. Participation is restricted to General Counsels or senior leaders responsible for the management of legal functions at WEI member energy companies.

Meets biannually in May + November. This semi-annual program provides a roundtable opportunity for human resource leadership to address contemporary, strategic issues in human resource management. The program considers strategic inclusions such as collective bargaining agreements, benefits, employee diversity, performance management, compensation policies and change management. This program is intended for senior leaders responsible for management of human resources functions at WEI energy member companies.

Meets biannually in April + October/November. An integrated resource plan (IRP) is more than just a plan; it’s an involved process with multiple evaluation criteria that helps to determine both short- and long-term load growth. Planning professionals gather twice a year, both in-person and virtually, to better understand the challenges facing electric and natural gas providers in Western North America. This program is for directors, senior leaders and key organizational contributors who manage the aspects and objectives of their utility’s integrated resource plan.

Meets biannually in April/May + October/November. Bringing together Key Accounts directors and managers to share best and practices and develop creative solutions to KA challenges, this bi-annual meeting features a keynote from the host utility, dedicated roundtable conversations, and breakout sessions designed for focused discussions between members. This program is for utilities and designed for key accounts directors and managers.

Meets biannually in March/April + October. Designed for electric utility executives, participants engage in best practice roundtables to address electric distribution system and substation reliability and safety. This program is intended for senior leaders of WEI energy member companies: vice presidents, directors of electric operations and general managers responsible for maintaining system reliability.

Renewable Gases including biomethane or RNG, hydrogen and syngas present an opportunity for members to reduce the carbon intensity of the gas streams provided to their end use customers. Join utility professionals responsible for low carbon and renewable efforts at their company as we discuss a wide range of strategic topics from policies, regulatory framework, safety and economics to gas quality and operational issues related to these efforts.

Meets annually in November/December. WEI’s Strategic Planning program provides a forum for members responsible for their company’s strategic plan to come together to discuss common challenges and opportunities. This annual forum provides a collaborative space for members to focus on strategic issues and compare the planning processes at different companies. This program is intended for directors or senior managers with strategic responsibilities in supply chain business functions.

This utility-only forum is designed specifically for Directors and Senior Managers that work in or support substation operations. The format is largely centered around structured roundtable discussions that allow for informal benchmarking between participants and for group problem solving. This is an opportunity to share best practices and learn from industry peers on how to manage the changing landscape within Substation Operations. The content covers substation operation topics such as technology and automation, changing workforce, improving safety, aging infrastructure, compliance/regulation, industry trends and sharing other lessons learned. The format will be a mix of virtual and in-person.

Meets annually in May/June. Focusing on the role of supply chain leadership, this forum provides an environment for strategic thinkers to discuss supply chain management responsibilities. This program is intended for Directors or Senior Managers with strategic responsibilities.

Meets annually in September. Energy companies face core challenges to recruit, retain, develop and train their workforce. This forum brings together employee development and training experts to share case studies and proven best practices. This program is intended for key energy company contributors who lead aspects and objectives of their company’s talent recruitment, retention, development and training.

Meets annually in the fall. In 2003 the Western Region Mutual Assistance Agreement (WRMAA) was created and adopted by gas and electric utilities throughout Western North America to support one another in the event of emergencies affecting generation, transmission, distribution, or other business operations. Signatories meet in person annually to share best practices, discuss key emergency response issues, and elect new members of the Executive Committee and the custodian of the agreement. This program is open to signatories of the Western Region Mutual Assistance Agreement or by invitation.

Meets annually in August. This annual forum is a place for Chief Financial Officers, senior accountants, and finance leaders from western North American to come together to address common challenges and explore best practices in everyday obstacles ranging from financial reporting, rate design, cost management strategies, and beyond. This program is open to both WEI energy members and non-members.

Meets annually in August. This program will bring together senior leaders responsible for wildfire planning and mitigation strategies at WEI member companies for an interactive peer to peer session. We will focus on sharing and discussing best practices around strategies for planning, operations, technology and various other tactics to mitigate and plan for wildfires.