Highlights from EEI 2024
Highlights from EEI 2024
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EEI 2024—the industry’s leading thought leadership forum, held in Las Vegas from June 18-20—showcased the work of EEI’s member companies to deliver the future of energy.
The conference featured a dynamic lineup of speakers and sessions covering top-of-mind topics. Following are a few highlights—find more on the EEI 2024 Highlights webpage and in the upcoming issue of Electric Perspectives.
To kick off the conference, outgoing EEI Chair Pedro J. Pizarro, president and CEO of Edison International, led a conversation with Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA, on how NVIDIA’s pioneering work to advance AI and quantum computing has, in part, driven a significant growth in electricity demand. The conversation also focused on how electric companies are partnering with companies like NVIDIA to meet that growing demand. “My guess is energy consumption goes up quite substantially,” said Huang. “The implication of the [artificial] intelligence that is created will reduce waste, and, hopefully, less carbon. This will create greater productivity and increase the size of industries. I think the future of intelligence is quite high, and then the future of energy is quite high.”
Newly elected EEI Chair Maria Pope, president and CEO of Portland General Electric, led a conversation with Antonio Neri, president and CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, on the changing technology industry and Neri’s career journey. “All of us in this room need to have a minor in AI,” said Neri. “It doesn't matter what you do: engineer, finance, legal, human resources. If you don't understand how this technology works, you're going to be left behind.”
EEI Vice Chair Calvin Butler, president and CEO of Exelon Corporation, led a conversation with Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Willie Phillips on the energy transition and regulatory policies, including the importance of industry-government partnership. “We’re all in this together,” said Chairman Phillips. “So, when you ask me do we have the right tools—we have the tools. The question is, are we deploying them in the right way to get us where we need to go?”
U.S. Congressman Steven Horsford (D-NV) welcomed EEI 2024 attendees to Las Vegas and highlighted the strides the United States has made in the transition to clean energy. Congressman Horsford also discussed the strength of industry-government partnerships in delivering clean energy.
Pizarro moderated a CEO leadership panel on the key issues facing the electric power industry with Pope, Butler, and EEI Vice Chair David Campbell, chairman and CEO of Evergy.
NV Energy President and CEO Doug Cannon led a conversation with Las Vegas Raiders President Sandra Douglass Morgan on her experiences as the first woman or first Black person to hold certain positions throughout her career, and how she approaches leadership through this lens. “When you realize that you are the first to do something, there is a greater responsibility,” said Douglass Morgan. “It’s really important to pay it forward and to be able to mentor other people of color and women. It’s an honor, but, to me, it won’t be a success if I’m the first and only. ... When they say ‘trailblazer,’ I know it's a compliment, but it’s not success if it’s just a trail. It needs to be an eight-lane highway. It can’t just be one-and-done with me.”
In addition to these keynote speakers, EEI 2024 also included:
- A conversation on the power of partnerships in promoting workforce diversity with EEI President and CEO Dan Brouillette, American Association of Blacks in Energy (AABE) President and CEO Ralph Cleveland, and EEI Senior Vice President, Chief Diversity Officer, and Chief Human Resources Officer Courtney Peterson. Brouillette and Cleveland signed a memorandum of understanding to reinforce EEI’s and AABE’s joint commitment to strengthening the energy workforce. Read more about this commitment in EEI’s press release.
- 29 high-potential leaders, nominated by their member company CEOs, who participated in the Diverse and Emerging Leaders Cohort programming at EEI 2024. They also heard from EEI Board members and member company leaders on how to chart a path for growth in the industry.
- 8 breakout sessions on timely industry topics, as well as ongoing programming in The Hub.