The Utility Broadband Alliance (UBBA), a collaboration of utilities and solution providers dedicated to championing private broadband networks for critical infrastructure industries, today announced that it will highlight the key trends and innovations shaping the utility industry at the UBBA Summit & Plugfest, taking place Nov. 5-7, 2024, in Kansas City. This year’s event will include keynotes from David Campbell, CEO of host utility, Evergy, and Leslie M. Duke, CEO of Burns & McDonnell. Utility industry leaders will share deployment lessons learned and strategies for enabling grid modernization through private broadband communications.

From artificial intelligence (AI) and distributed energy resources (DERs) to cybersecurity, utilities across the globe are recognizing opportunities to harness innovative technologies to increase resiliency, streamline operations and deliver better experiences for customers. The 2024 UBBA Summit & Plugfest will bring together executives from leading utilities and industry organizations to learn from their peers and share best practices for leveraging advanced, high-speed communication networks to support these innovations and deliver a more resilient, secure and sustainable grid.

Informative sessions scheduled for the 2024 UBBA Summit & Plugfest include: 

• Fireside Chats with representatives from the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), the GridWise Alliance, Evergy, Southern California Edison and more discussing topics such as advancements in AI innovation impacting utilities; policy and politics impacting the evolution of the grid; and the expansion of rural broadband.
• Tech Sessions from leaders at Anterix, Motorola, UScellular, Nokia and others on a broad range of technical topics, including: lessons learned for private wireless broadband deployment; combining open standard, embedded edge computing with emerging LTE infrastructure to deliver maximum value for AMI 2.0 and beyond; 5G’s role in mission critical private networks; and applying AI/machine-learning-centric automation to private LTE/5G utility field area network deployment and operations.
• Panel Discussions featuring insights from Evergy, Xcel Energy, Southern Linc, Duquesne Light, ComEd and more on topics that include preparing for the energy surge from AI data centers, electric vehicles (EVs) and cryptocurrency; information and control beyond metering; and cybersecurity challenges and strategies for utility-critical infrastructure communications.

This year’s event will once again feature the annual UBBA Plugfest, a demonstration showcase featuring teams of UBBA Member participants as they collaborate to test private broadband communication networks across three critical use cases: AMI 2.0, device routing and edge computing. The UBBA Plugfest provides essential learning opportunities for attendees to explore the benefits of critical networks in utility operations.

“Utilities and ecosystem members continue to seek opportunities to collaborate and strategize on the biggest trends facing the industry as energy demands grow,” said Bobbi Harris, executive director, UBBA. “The UBBA Summit & Plugfest has emerged as an invaluable place where these leaders can align on leveraging private broadband communication as a critical enabler of grid modernization. We can’t wait to welcome attendees to our fourth annual event as they explore opportunities to harness these networks and usher in the next wave of utility innovation.”

Registration for the 2024 UBBA Summit & Plugfest is currently open. To learn more and register, visit the event website: www.UBBAplugfest.org. To learn more about UBBA and inquire about potential membership, visit www.UBBA.com.