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2025 IRPS Conference

Powering Illinois Forward: A Summit on Energy Resilience, Sustainability, and Innovation

Tuesday, October 14, 2025 1:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, October 15, 2025 7:30 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.

All times are Central Standard Time

Location: President Abraham Lincoln Hotel, 701 E. Adams Street, Springfield, IL 62701

Agenda

      Tuesday, October 14

Welcome

1:00pm

Dimitrios Nikolaou, Executive Director, Institute for Regulatory Policy Studies, Illinois State University

Keynote Address

1:15pm

Doug P. Scott, Chairman, Illinois Commerce Commission

Session 1

1:45pm

The Evolving Policy Landscape: Illinois at the Crossroads of State and Federal Action

  • Long-term vision for decarbonization in Illinois.
  • Intersection of Illinois’ energy goals with federal energy policies, executive orders, and regulatory changes.
  • The future of gas and decarbonization under CEJA and federal policies.
  • Policy considerations for other energy sources (e.g., biofuels, hydrogen).
  • How Illinois state agencies adapt to and implement clean energy policies in light of state and federal directives.

Moderator:

Commissioner Stacey Paradis, Illinois Commerce Commission

Speakers:   

Matt Crozak, Executive Director, Nuclear Energy Institute

Brian Granahan, Director, Illinois Power Agency

JC Kibbey, Climate Advisor, Governor's Office

TBD, Office of the Illinois Attorney General

3:30pm

Afternoon Break

Session 2

3:45pm

Building a Resilient and Interconnected Energy Infrastructure and Markets for Illinois

  • Interregional transmission expansion (electricity) and interstate pipeline infrastructure (natural gas and hydrogen).
  • The roles of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs), and state agencies in planning for integrated energy infrastructure.
  • Advanced grid management technologies and forecasting, the reliability and resilience of both the electric grid and natural gas systems, and their interdependence.
  • How PJM and MISO's market rules and governance structures impact Illinois.

Moderator:

Commissioner Michael Carrigan, Illinois Commerce Commission

Speakers:    

Steven Bennett, Senior Manager, Governmental Services, PJM Interconnection

Tim Hermann, Vice President, Gas Operations, Nicor Gas

Marc Keyser, Regional Director, Customer Affairs, MISO

John Moore, Director, Sustainable FERC, Climate & Energy, Natural Resources Defense Council

5:30pm

End of Sessions for the Day

5:30-7:30pm

Reception

Wednesday, October 15

7:30am

Breakfast

8:10am

Welcome by German Blanco, Associate Director, Institute for Regulatory Policy Studies, Illinois State University

Session 3

8:15am

Powering the Future: Electrification, Efficiency, and Distributed Energy Resources

  • Strategies and policies to promote the adoption of electric vehicles and the development of charging infrastructure, considering grid impacts and managed charging.
  • Advancements in energy efficiency technologies and building codes for reducing energy consumption in residential and commercial buildings.
  • Deployment and integration of residential and commercial solar and other distributed generation technologies.
  • Evolving role of natural gas in meeting heating, industrial, and other end-use needs in a transitioning energy system.
  • Smart home and building technologies for optimizing energy consumption and grid interaction across all fuel types

Moderator:

Commissioner Conrad R. Reddick, Illinois Commerce Commission

Speakers:    

Cliff Haefke, Director, Energy Resources Center, University of Illinois at Chicago

Amy Heart, Senior Vice President of Public Policy, Sunrun

Mike King, Director of Energy Efficiency, Nicor Gas

Molly Lunn, Director of Regulatory Solutions, ComEd

Kelly Turner, Chief Legal Officer, Illinois Power Agency

Kit White, Manager, Legislative & Regulatory Affairs, Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance

10:00am

Morning Break

Session 4

10:30am

Navigating New Energy Demands and Ensuring Resource Adequacy

  • Increasing electricity consumption of data centers and AI technologies and their implications for the Illinois grid, including how broader energy infrastructure can support these evolving needs.
  • How utilities and regulators plan for and respond to this new demand, including infrastructure investments and demand-side management programs, across both gas and electric systems.
  • Energy storage technologies and the role of dispatchable energy resources in maintaining grid reliability and ensuring resource adequacy in a future with a high penetration of renewable energy.
  • Grid constraints while prioritizing energy efficiency and broader sustainability objectives in the face of growing demand and affordability concerns, and how integrated energy system coordination can help address these challenges.

Moderator:

Commissioner Ann McCabe, Illinois Commerce Commission

Speakers:    

Meena Beyers, Vice President, Business and Community Development, Nicor Gas

Scott Vogt, Vice President, Strategy, Energy Policy, and Revenue Initiatives, ComEd

Jim Zolnierek, Bureau Chief, Illinois Commerce Commission

TBD, Google

12:15pm

End of 2025 IRPS Conference

Registration is now OPEN.

If you would like to receive email notifications of our upcoming events please send your contact information (name, title, company, and email address) to irps@ilstu.edu.

Register

 

Cancellation and Refund Policy

If you cannot attend, cancellation must be submitted via email to irps@ilstu.edu.  A refund less a 20% processing fee will apply for cancellation more than two weeks prior to the start of the conference. For cancellations between one and two weeks prior to the start of the conference, a refund will only be issued if documentation of an emergency is submitted (the 20% processing fee still applies). Individuals who do not attend the conference (no-shows) will not be entitled to any refund. Substitutions may be made in advance by October 3 only with individuals within the same institution/company. Fees are non-transferable to future IRPS conferences.

IRPS reserves the right to cancel conferences due to the unlikely event of insufficient enrollment or other unforeseen circumstances. If a meeting is at capacity, canceled, or postponed, the Institute will refund registration fees, but cannot be held responsible for other costs or expenses, including cancellation/change in charges assessed by airlines, travel agencies, or hotels.

Hotel Reservations

A block of rooms has been reserved for our conference with a cutoff date of September 30, 2025. There is a limited amount of rooms, please reserve your room early. 

Learn more Reserve your room

As of September 16, all rooms at the conference hotel (President Abraham Lincoln Hotel) are full.

We have contacted the State House Inn by Wyndham (101 E Adams Street, Springfield, IL 62701), which is a 5-minute drive (or a 10-minute walk) to the conference hotel (President Abraham Lincoln Hotel, 701 E Adams Street, Springfield, IL 62701). They will honor the current conference hotel rate of $124.00 per night for October 14 and October 15. However, due to having to create a new contract with them, this will take a couple of weeks. What they recommend is to make a reservation now to secure a room, and then once the contract is ready, you can ask them to switch you to the conference block (if you are a state employee you do not need to switch to the conference block since your rate is $110.00 per night). If you decide to go that route, please let me know, and we can email you once we receive confirmation that the room block is ready. The link to their website to make reservations is here.

Send your contact information (name, title, company and email address) to: irps@ilstu.edu if you would like to be on the email list to receive information from the IRPS regarding these conferences.

Watch your email for announcements or check back here. CLE credits will be offered.