For more than 30 years, the E Source Forum has facilitated learning, networking, and collaboration among utility professionals from across the US and Canada. We’re ecstatic to be back with you all September 19–21 in Denver! Have you started your official countdown yet?
We know you have a lot on your plate and might be wondering, Is it worth it to attend the Forum? We take the time to craft an agenda featuring topics that matter to you, with thought-provoking keynote speakers, market research and data-driven content, customer panels, and insights from your utility peers. You’ll find inspiration around every corner at the Forum and will return to the grind with a variety of new ideas.
Don’t believe me? If you’re on the fence, here are a few of the ways attending the Forum can inspire and energize you for what’s to come—with real statements made by past attendees to back them up!
Feel prepared for changes coming down the pike
The Forum features cutting-edge content, fun activities to participate in, and new ways to network with your peers and utility partners. We squeeze a lot into one week and hope to inspire you to take charge for positive change:
Change is coming and E Source is here as a resource to help guide you through the change. They have positioned themselves to be the go-to resource.
This year, the Forum agenda will include sessions related to four topical tracks:
- Customer experience
- Customer programs
- Grid technologies
- Marketing and communications
We’ve hosted more than 800 utility professionals in recent years and strive to curate an experience that’s motivational and impactful:
I like being exposed to new ideas and having the chance to get away from my desk to think about the future with other people who are equally excited. It also helped me know we’re on the right track with some things that our company is already doing.
I have just started in my position in the industry and I will use this information to inform my decisions and consider how my actions will impact the customer.
Form meaningful connections with other utility professionals
If you’ve attended the Forum before, you probably already know we appreciate a healthy balance of learning and fun. We know that by offering insightful sessions and enjoyable networking activities, relationships among utility peers will form and fruitful collaborations will grow:
I came away with valuable utility contacts with vast experience doing what I will be doing for the next 5 years. I plan to leverage the experience with my new industry peer contacts to find out what works, value vendor partners, and evaluate strategies, rates, and program offerings.
Some of the networking activities you can look forward to at this year’s Forum include:
- Exhibitor-hosted cocktail hours
- Roundtable lunches with E Source experts
- Afternoon workshops and off-site field trips and tours
- Casino night
- Our annual ping-pong party at Ace Eat Serve
To support sustainability efforts in the industry, it’s important to collaborate and build connections. We promise you’ll have multiple opportunities to connect with like-minded individuals who are tackling similar challenges:
I like the energy and enthusiasm that E Source brings to the table. I especially appreciate having the opportunity to connect face-to-face with peers who work in the same world as me and face similar challenges. I plan to remain in contact with people I met from other utilities and bring information shared by others back to cross-functional teams I am working with now to put new ideas out there or establish backing for ideas we’ve already put out there.
I totally enjoyed the engagement with other attendees, the variety of workshop offerings, the elements of fun during the day, and the selection of evening entertainment!
Sustainability matters and we’re in it together
Every year we strive to help you become a Sustainable Utility and we hold ourselves accountable too. We’re always seeking ways to make the Forum more sustainable and hope you’ll join us in our efforts this year.
Some of the sustainability features of the Forum include:
- A decrease in paper handouts in sessions and on the exhibitor floor
- Elimination of beef from the menu to help in our efforts to reduce our carbon footprint
- Water stations throughout the event space to keep your reusable water bottles filled
- Public transportation options
- Badge and lanyard recycling at the end of the event
Our host, the Sheraton Denver Downtown, is also making changes for good. Its parent company, Marriott International, recently announced its goal to reach net-zero. The company has committed to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions along its value chain by 2050 and is making significant changes to meet that goal.
