Notice2026-04554

Increasing Market and Planning Efficiency Through Improved Software; Notice of Technical Conference: Increasing Market and Planning Efficiency Through Improved Software

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Published
March 9, 2026

Issuing agencies

Energy DepartmentFederal Energy Regulatory Commission

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 45 (Monday, March 9, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 45 (Monday, March 9, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11301-11302]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-04554]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. AD10-12-017]


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

[[Page 11302]]

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\
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    \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).
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    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 <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#03454651404c6d6f6a6d66507673736c717743656671602d646c75"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="ca8c8f988985a4a6a3a4af99bfbabaa5b8be8aacafb8a9e4ada5bc">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>, 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 <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c7a6a4a4a2b4b4aea5aeabaeb3be87a1a2b5a4e9a0a8b1"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="78191b1b1d0b0b111a1114110c01381e1d0a1b561f170e">[email&#160;protected]</span></a> 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, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f4b0959a9d9198daa395939a9186b492918697da939b82"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b5f1d4dbdcd0d99be2d4d2dbd0c7f5d3d0c7d69bd2dac3">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>
Paige Bradford, Office of Technical Reporting and Economics, (202) 502-
8319, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#fbab9a929c9ed5b9899a9f9d94899fbb9d9e8998d59c948d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1a4a7b737d7f3458687b7e7c75687e5a7c7f6879347d756c">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>

    Dated: March 4, 2026.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2026-04554 Filed 3-6-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P


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