The Energy Bar Association Conference and Annual meeting is EBA's premier energy law and public policy conference. Join hundreds of energy industry attorneys, regulators from the Department of Energy and other agencies, in-house energy attorneys, consultants and others. The conference offers two days of thought-provoking CLE programming and multiple networking opportunities. See the full conference agenda below. Note: Speakers and sessions will be continuously updated and edited leading up to the conference.
Theme: Meeting the Moment: Reliability, Regulation, and Risk
Tuesday, April 14
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM: Registration and Buffet Breakfast
9:00 AM - 10:25 AM: Honorable Kevin J. McIntyre - General Session: Outside 888: Who Else Shapes Energy Policy in 2026?
Rapid growth in U.S. energy demand is reshaping policy, drawing unprecedented attention from federal agencies, legislators, the White House, and state commissions. Affordability, resource adequacy, and reliability are prompting new collaborations, overlapping mandates, and occasional jurisdictional tensions. This panel features non-FERC policy leaders and regulators addressing these challenges. Discussion will cover federal–state dynamics, resource adequacy, permitting and infrastructure modernization, and the role of emerging national policy bodies. Panelists will assess interactions with FERC policies, stakeholder engagement, and energy governance. Attendees will gain insight into the complex, demand-driven forces transforming the energy policy landscape in 2026 and beyond.
10:50 AM - 12:00 PM: Concurrent Sessions
Concurrent 1A: Congressional Investigations
This session will explore legal and strategic issues in connection with Congressional investigations into energy company practices and activities. This includes an introduction to, and high-level analysis of, the rules governing Congressional investigations, distinguishing Congressional investigations from enforcement proceedings, an overview of Congressional Committees with relevant jurisdiction, presentation of select case studies, and discussion of the “Court of Public Opinion” and the importance of reputation management.
Concurrent 1B: Unleashing Energy Infrastructure: Natural Gas and Oil Permitting Policy and Reform
The current administration has highlighted development of natural gas and oil infrastructure as an energy policy priority. Nevertheless, energy infrastructure development in the United States is increasingly constrained by an approval system at a time when oil and gas transportation has become an economic imperative driven by evolving market demands and technological change. Layered, duplicative, and often unpredictable federal and state permitting requirements can delay projects for years, exposing developers to legal risk and regulatory uncertainty.
This panel will examine how the current permitting framework has become a bottleneck for critical energy infrastructure and explore targeted reforms that can restore efficiency without compromising environmental protections or public participation. Panelists will discuss recent developments in the federal approval process for natural gas pipeline and LNG projects, legislative developments, environmental review and water permitting, including how these processes intersect with emerging pressures such as AI-driven natural gas demand and regional fuel supply constraints.
12:05 PM - 2:00 PM: Luncheon
2:15 PM - 3:25 PM: Concurrent Sessions
Concurrent 2A - Enforcement
This session will dive deep into the enforcement priorities on which new leadership at FERC and the current Administration will likely focus. In particular, we will focus on a range of issues, including how FERC may address the impacts of Jarkesy on its enforcement program, the recent certiorari grant by the Supreme Court on two appeals concerning the impact of Jarkesy on the FCC’s in-house penalty authority, and possible new areas or recipients of scrutiny (including allegations of “greenwashing” by purchasers of Renewable Energy Credits).
Concurrent 2B – Cross-Border Session
3:50 PM - 5:00 PM: Concurrent Sessions
Concurrent 3A – Records, Schmecords
Rules regarding records exist on the state and federal level. They exist for entities under rate regulation, and for entities under market-based rates. They exist for electric utilities, and for natural gas producers, gatherers and transporters; they exist for shippers and customers of electric utilities; they exist for municipalities; they exist for oil transportation. They exist for the federal government, and they exist for state governments.
Why are there so many rules regarding records, when for so many of us they are an afterthought, somewhere down on the capital expenditure list, hardly ever a priority, until the client is truly pinched? Then it’s a mad scramble, often finger pointing, resulting in disallowances, lost profits, damage to reputation, and, perhaps more importantly, impairing the confidence of relationships with important stakeholders. Wouldn’t every form of economic regulation be faster, simpler, less onerous if people just knew how to manage and anticipate the preservation of the correct records? Understanding the records obligation translates into dollars, there can be no doubt.
We will attempt to give some guided answers to those questions with a panel of experienced professionals who all have opinions and experience in these matters.
Concurrent 3B – Searching for Stability in the Rising Tide: Grid Solutions for Large Load Integration
As load growth surges nationwide system operators and utilities are under increasing pressure to maintain reliability, ensure safety, and modernize interconnection processes. In this session, panelists will discuss how their organizations are navigating this rising tide—examining emerging reliability risks, evolving planning and operational practices, and innovative solutions for integrating high demand loads. Panelists will share how they are diving into the technical, regulatory, and coordination considerations shaping their approaches, offering an inside look at the tools needed to support resilient, timely, and secure large load integration.
Special Event
Charitable Foundation of the Energy Bar Association Gala
After the first day of conference events, please join us at the Charitable Foundation of the Energy Bar Association’s 2026 Annual Charitable Gala on Tuesday evening from 5:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. (ET)
The separately ticketed charitable event will begin with a cocktail reception, followed by a seated dinner with presentations by representatives from CFEBA.
Wednesday, April 15
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM: Registration and Buffet Breakfast
9:00 AM - 9:30 AM: Keynote Remarks
9:30 AM - 10:55 AM: General Session 2 - State PUC Commissioners
11:10 AM - 12:20 PM: Concurrent Sessions
Concurrent 4A - Insights from the NPC Gas-Electric Coordination Study
A session to highlight key recommendations from the National Petroleum Council’s forthcoming Gas-Electric Coordination Study, commissioned by the U.S. Secretary of Energy. The study examines how natural gas and electric reliability are jointly shaped by infrastructure adequacy, market design, and governance—and where jurisdictional boundaries between FERC, NERC, and state regulators complicate coordinated reliability oversight. Attendees will gain insights into the NPC's recommendations to improve cross-sector planning, commercial alignment, and accountability across federal and state frameworks. Discussion will emphasize the legal, commercial and institutional interplay that drives (or hinders) effective natural gas delivery.
Concurrent 4B - Sailing without a Compass?: Offshore Critical Minerals Development in the U.S.
The deep sea floor holds promising quantities of critical minerals, like cobalt, nickel, and manganese, that have been identified as essential for the energy industry. But many questions remain about how best to move forward with deep sea mining, including what regulatory standards apply and whether those standards are adequate to address the potential environmental impacts. The panel will explore the current state of U.S. involvement in deep sea critical minerals exploration in both U.S.-jurisdiction and extraterritorial waters.
12:30 PM - 2:00 PM: Lunch and 2026 EBA Annual Meeting
2:00 PM - 3:10 PM: Concurrent Sessions
Concurrent 5A - Capacity Markets at a Crossroads? Will Rising Capacity Market Prices Drive New Capacity Resource Investment?
With tightening electric system reserve margins, changing generation resource mixtures, an aging transmission system, unparalleled data center load additions and the ongoing need for investment new capacity, resource investment may be one answer to the equation. This panel will explore how each of these factors impact electric system reliability, reserve margins, capacity prices, and the opportunities for new investment.
Concurrent 5B - Ethics in AI
As artificial intelligence (AI) increasingly becomes a tool for decision-making in the utility sector, regulators and industry professionals face pressing ethical questions about its use in regulatory proceedings. This panel discussion will explore the ethical implications of AI in utility regulation, focusing on how AI systems are being integrated into regulatory processes. Topics will include issues of fairness, transparency, bias, accountability, and the protection of consumer rights. Panelists will provide practical insights into navigating these challenges within the context of utility regulation, highlighting the role of ethics in ensuring that AI-driven decisions align with public interest, regulatory frameworks, and social equity.
3:35 PM - 5:00 PM: General Session 3 - Transmission Planning in Transition: Implementing Order No. 1920 in a Shifting Landscape
No sooner was Order No. 1920 issued when the landscape began shifting again. Congressional proposals related to planning, permitting, and paying continue to evolve, FERC took subsequent action that could impact how merchant transmission would be integrated into transmission planning, and large loads increasingly place greater needs on reliable load forecasting. This panel will examine emerging compliance and litigation issues in the wake of FERC’s Order No. 1920, beginning with a brief status update on where the rule stands in ongoing litigation and the current landscape of initial and forthcoming compliance filings across regions.
Panelists will then turn to substantive questions that have surfaced since the rule’s issuance, including whether existing planning frameworks can realistically forecast future load growth and generation development at the scale now required, and what methodological adjustments may be needed. The panel will also explore how merchant transmission projects should be treated in regional planning. Finally, the discussion will address growing tension between the rule’s emphasis on scenario-based planning and recently introduced legislation that would curtail certain drivers of shared regional transmission portfolios.
CLE:
This program is eligible for 8.6 hours of CLE credit in 60-minute states, and 10.4 hours of CLE credit, in 50-minute states. Credit hours are estimated and are subject to each state’s approval and credit rounding rules.
To Receive CLE Credit:
Please note, you must sign in at the CLE table each day to receive CLE credit. If you have met the participation requirements, you will then receive a personalized CLE affidavit via email from mcle-eba@americanbar.org for the program at which you attended at least one session to completion. Please check your spam or junk folders as these emails often end up there. Please note you will fill out one affidavit for the full event. Once you complete the affidavit, you will be able to download your certificate(s) of attendance and they will be emailed to you as well from mcle-eba@americanbar.org.
Scholarships:
EBA offers eligible student, government, and academic members discounts on the rates for most EBA programs which carry CLE credits, including EBA's Annual and Mid-Year Meetings. EBA will, on a case-by-case basis, consider requests from members to attend EBA programs at a discounted rate. Discount requests must be made to EBA's office at least fifteen days prior to the close of regular registration for the program in question. Requests will be considered by EBA if timely and complete. Discount requests must demonstrate a substantial financial hardship. Please submit your requests to jhannan@eba-net.org.