# Increasing Market and Planning Efficiency Through Improved Software; Notice of Technical Conference: Increasing Market and Planning Efficiency Through Improved Software
Take notice that Commission staff will convene a technical conference to discuss opportunities for increasing market and planning efficiency including through improved software (software conference) on Tuesday, July 7 and Wednesday, July 8, 2026 in the Kevin J. McIntyre Commission Meeting Room at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426.
The software conference will bring together experts from a broad range of backgrounds including electric power system operators, software developers, government, research centers, reliability organizations, and academia for the purposes of stimulating discussion, sharing information, and identifying fruitful avenues for research, including research on improving software for increased efficiency, affordability, and reliability of the bulk power system.
**I. Panel Discussions: Tuesday, July 7, 2026**
On the first day of the conference, July 7, staff will lead two in-person panel discussions.
The first panel will discuss effective deployment of grid-enhancing technologies and related software. Grid-enhancing technologies have the potential to improve the efficient use of the existing transmission grid, reducing costs and increasing reliability. In addition to learning about recent research on grid-enhancing technologies, Commission staff are interested in hearing from transmission owners and system operators about their experience deploying grid-enhancing technologies and related software. This panel may address grid enhancing technologies including: (1) static synchronous compensators; (2) static VAR compensators; (3) advanced power flow control devices; (4) transmission switching; (5) synchronous condensers; (6) voltage source converters; (7) advanced conductors; (8) dynamic line ratings; [^1] and (9) the implementation of, and software related to, ambient-adjusted ratings. [^2]
[^1] See, generally, *Bldg. for the Future Through Elec. Reg'l Transmission Planning and Cost Allocation,* Order No. 1920, 89 FR 49280 (June 11, 2024), 187 FERC ¶ 61,068 (2024) at P 1198 (referencing a set of alternative transmission technologies); Improvements *to Generator Interconnection Procs. & Agreements,* Order No. 2023, 88 FR 61014 (Sept. 6, 2023), 184 FERC ¶ 61,054 (2023) at P 1578 (referencing a set of alternative transmission technologies).
[^2] The Commission requires transmission providers to use ambient-adjusted ratings in calculating line ratings. *Managing Transmission Line Ratings,* Order No. 881, 87 FR 2244 (Jan. 13, 2022), 177 FERC ¶ 61,179 (2021).
The second panel will discuss load forecasting. Load forecasting is becoming increasingly important as the bulk power system faces historic demand growth driven in part by data centers and other large new loads. This panel may address: (1) forecasting for data centers and other large loads; (2) resource needs to serve new large loads; (3) software improvements to increase the accuracy of load forecasting; (4) options to enhance data sharing; and (5) underlying assumptions and computational techniques. As potential changes to forecasting processes are being discussed nationwide, including by reliability organizations and RTO/ISO stakeholder groups, Commission staff will seek perspectives from a variety of stakeholders.
Individuals interested in participating as panelists on either panel should nominate themselves by 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time on April 6, 2026 on the Commission's website, linked here. Each nomination should state the proposed panelist's name, contact information, organizational affiliation, and indicate the topic area on which the proposed panelist would like to speak.
**II. Individual Presentations: Wednesday, July 8, 2026**
Building on prior conferences, on the second day, July 8, the software conference will address cutting edge research topics through individual presentations from industry in the same format as prior conferences in this series. Broadly, such topics fall into the following categories:
(1) Software applications, including artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning, to improve efficiency and affordability of the bulk power system, and implementation of advanced computing methods in electric and natural gas markets.
(2) Software supporting the operation of energy infrastructure, including operations impacted by the interconnection of large loads.
(3) Software to optimize resources that face intertemporal constraints, such as gas generators with ratable gas contracts, thermal generators with annual emissions constraints, rechargeable energy storage resources, and demand response resources with time limits.
(4) Software supporting resource adequacy, both in facilitating the interconnection of generation and load and in modeling energy adequacy needs.
Presentation nominations must be submitted on or before March 18, 2026, through the Commission's website, again linked here. Speakers interested in presenting a paper or other work should provide an abstract and list of contributing authors for the proposed presentation. Proposed presentations should be related to the topics discussed above. Speakers and presentations will be selected to ensure relevance to those topics and to accommodate time constraints.
In previous years, Commission staff has received nominations for more presentations than could be accommodated, and we anticipate that will be the case this year. Presenters are encouraged to submit new findings and novel work to ensure that the conference reflects the latest research. Presentation proposals that involve many of the same co-authors and/or have similar content may be combined into a single proposal or panel for one presentation.
**III. Additional Details**
Supplemental notices with an agenda with additional details, including the list of panel discussions, and presentation dates and times for the selected speakers, will be issued at a later date. Further details on both participation and attendance, including a webcast, will be released prior to the conference. The conference will be transcribed, and a recording of the webcast will be made available after the conference.
There is an “eSubscription” link on the Commission's website that enables subscribers to receive email notification when a document is added to a subscribed docket(s). For assistance with any FERC Online service, please email *[email protected],* or call (866) 208-3676 (toll free). For TTY, call (202) 502-8659.
FERC conferences are accessible under section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. For accessibility accommodations please send an email to *[email protected]* or call toll free (866) 208-3372 (voice) or (202) 502-8659 (TTY), or send a fax to (202) 208-2106 with the required accommodations.
Attendees must register through the Commission's website on or before June 12, 2026. Registration is free and is available to all members of the public, though we encourage foreign nationals to indicate interest as soon as possible to accommodate security screening. Access to the software conference (virtual or in-person) may not be available to those who do not register.
For further information about the software conference, please contact:
Daniel Wagner, Office of Technical Reporting and Economics, (202) 502-8934, *[email protected]*
Paige Bradford, Office of Technical Reporting and Economics, (202) 502-8319, *[email protected]*
Dated: March 4, 2026.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Secretary.