Summary - Grids in Transition: A New Global Conference Series 2026. Online registration by Cvent

Power systems around the world are under pressure that they were never designed to handle. Built for predictable, one-way electricity flows, grids are now being asked to integrate far more variable renewables and distributed energy resources while managing bidirectional flows. They must simultaneously cope with rapidly rising demand from electric vehicles, data centres, heat pumps, and industry. This must all be done while maintaining the reliability, resilience, and affordability modern economies depend on.

The gap between what grids need to do and what they can currently deliver is widening. Without faster grid transformation, electrification will slow, decarbonisation will stall, and economic growth will be constrained. The investment, technology, and regulatory decisions being made today will determine how electricity systems perform for decades to come.

Global Transmission is launching Grids in Transition, a new international conference series focused on the transformation of electricity grids in enabling the energy transition.

A Global Conversation with Regional Perspectives

The series will cover three regions – Europe, the US, and Asia. While the underlying grid challenges are broadly similar, each region is managing the transition differently depending on its policy priorities, resource mix, infrastructure maturity, market structure, and economic context. Each geography, therefore, requires its own focused discussion, bringing together regulators, utilities, investors, and technical experts working through these issues. At the same time, there is value in sharing experiences, strategies, and solutions across regions. Together, these editions will provide a global perspective on how grids need to evolve to support decarbonisation, electrification, energy security, and economic growth.

Regional Editions

Le Méridien Paris Arc De Triomphe | August 25, 2026: The European edition opens the series at a critical moment for the continent's energy security agenda. The EU has set ambitious renewable energy and electrification targets to achieve climate neutrality, strengthen industrial competitiveness, and reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels. This edition will examine how Europe's grids are evolving to deliver these objectives. For more information, click here

Jay Conference Center, Midtown East, New York | September 24, 2026: The US is facing unprecedented demand growth driven by transport electrification, AI loads, and industrial expansion, at a pace and scale the grid was not designed to manage. The federal government’s Speed to Power initiative emphasises the need for investment in critical grid technologies. The US edition will focus on modernising the grid to match the speed and scale of electricity demand transformation. For more information, click here

The St. Regis Singapore | October 8, 2026: Asia presents a different order of challenge. The region combines the world’s fastest-growing electricity demand with significant dependence on fossil fuels and wide variation in grid maturity across markets. Massive investment in new infrastructure, system flexibility, and regional integration will be required. This edition will focus on the pathways to achieve it. For more information, click here

Across all three regions, the series will examine how grids must adapt to rapidly changing supply and demand transformation. Discussions will focus on building greater flexibility, stability, and security into power systems; accelerating infrastructure delivery while maintaining affordability; optimising existing grid capacity; leveraging digitalisation and AI in grid operations; and developing the regulatory and market frameworks needed for future electricity systems.