What is the biggest utility conference?

For electric utilities, DTECH (formerly DISTRIBUTECH) is the largest utility technology show, held March 1–4, 2027, in Atlanta. For water, AWWA's ACE27 (June 13–16, 2027, San Diego) and WEFTEC (September 25–29, 2027, Chicago) are the largest. For gas, it's the AGA Operations Conference & Biennial Exhibition (April 25–30, 2027).

Which conferences do public power and co-op utilities attend?

Public power (municipal) utilities gather at APPA's National Conference, Engineering & Operations Conference, Business & Financial Conference and Legislative Rally. Electric cooperatives gather at NRECA PowerXchange & TechAdvantage. Public gas systems meet at APGA's Annual Conference and Legislative Summit.

Which conferences do water and wastewater utilities attend?

The national shows are AWWA ACE and WEFTEC. Utility executives also meet at the AWWA/WEF Utility Management Conference and NACWA's Winter and Utility Leadership conferences, while small and rural systems gather through the National Rural Water Association. Large state meetings such as ACWA in California and Texas Water draw big regional crowds.

Which utility conference is best for vendors?

It depends on who buys your product. Grid, metering and DER vendors usually start with DTECH and the APPA and NRECA meetings. Water technology vendors focus on ACE, WEFTEC and state water shows. Customer-experience and billing vendors look at E Source Forum and IUCX, and telecom and cybersecurity vendors look at UTC Telecom & Technology.

When should vendors start outreach for a utility conference?

Four to six weeks before the show. Utility managers plan their time on the floor in advance, and many are busy with board meetings, budget season or storm response, so early outreach gives them room to put a meeting on the calendar.

How current are the dates on this list?

We checked each conference's next edition against the organizer's website, or a published announcement, on November 2, 2026. Dates and venues can change, and “TBA” means the organizer hadn't posted dates yet, so confirm on the official site before you book travel.

Can KSG help us book meetings at utility conferences?

Yes. KSG's event prospecting service books meetings with target utilities before a show and follows up with attendees afterward, including the utilities that couldn't attend. Our team has contacted more than 2,500 utilities for Siemens and researched 1,000+ water agencies for Kamstrup. See event prospecting or book a 30-minute call.

Top Utility Conferences 2026–2027: Electric, Water & Gas

The short version

The big three: DTECH (Mar 1–4, 2027, Atlanta) for grid and electric technology, AWWA ACE27 (Jun 13–16, 2027, San Diego) for drinking water and WEFTEC (Sep 25–29, 2027, Chicago) for wastewater.
Follow the owner. Public power utilities meet at APPA events, electric co-ops at NRECA PowerXchange, investor-owned utilities at EEI, and public gas systems at APGA.
41 conferences in 5 groups: electric power, water and wastewater, natural gas, regulators and energy policy, and utility technology and customer experience — each with the next dates we could confirm as of November 2, 2026.

How we chose these conferences

Utilities buy differently depending on who owns them. Public power utilities answer to city councils and utility boards, cooperatives to their member-elected boards, and investor-owned utilities to state regulators. So we started with the national associations each type of utility belongs to, then added the trade shows their engineers, operators and managers attend in numbers.

We kept the events that matter most to companies selling to utilities: national or large regional reach, utility decision-makers in the room and a way for vendors to take part, usually through exhibits or sponsorships. Conferences are grouped by sector and listed in date order. The numbers are for reference, not a ranking.

The 41 conferences

Filter by sector or search by name, organizer or city. Conference names link to each official website. “TBA” means the organizer hadn't posted dates when we checked.

Electric power, public power and co-ops

12 conferences. Grid technology shows and the national meetings of public power utilities, electric cooperatives and investor-owned utilities.

#	Conference	Next dates	Where
1	POWERGEN InternationalClarion EventsGeneration owners, operators and plant engineers	Jan 18–21, 2027	Salt Lake City, Utah
2	NRECA PowerXchange & TechAdvantageNational Rural Electric Cooperative AssociationElectric co-op CEOs, directors, IT and operations staff	Feb 12–17, 2027	San Diego, Calif.
3	APPA Legislative & Resolutions RallyAmerican Public Power AssociationPublic power executives meeting with Congress	Mar 1–3, 2027	Washington, D.C.
4	DTECH (DISTRIBUTECH International)Clarion EventsUtility T&D, grid technology, AMI and DER teams	Mar 1–4, 2027	Atlanta, Ga.
5	APPA Engineering & Operations Technical ConferenceAmerican Public Power AssociationPublic power engineers, operations and line managers	Apr 12–15, 2027	Raleigh, N.C.
6	IEEE PES Grid Edge TechnologiesIEEE Power & Energy SocietyEngineers working on DERs, EVs and the grid edge	Apr 19–22, 2027	Salt Lake City, Utah
7	EEI 2027Edison Electric InstituteInvestor-owned utility executives	Jun 14–16, 2027	Orlando, Fla.
8	APPA National ConferenceAmerican Public Power AssociationPublic power general managers, boards and policy leaders	Jun 18–23, 2027	Orlando, Fla.
9	IEEE PES General MeetingIEEE Power & Energy SocietyPower-system engineers and utility technical staff	Jul 25–29, 2027	San Francisco, Calif.
10	APPA Business & Financial ConferenceAmerican Public Power AssociationPublic power CFOs, rates and finance staff	Sep 19–22, 2027	Omaha, Neb.
11	Itron InspireItronUtilities using metering, AMI and grid-edge systems	Oct 24–26, 2027	San Diego, Calif.
12	RE+SEIA and SEPASolar, storage and DER industry, including utility buyers	Nov 15–18, 2027	Las Vegas, Nev.

Water and wastewater

14 conferences. Drinking water, wastewater, stormwater and water reuse — from the national shows to the big state and regional meetings.

#	Conference	Next dates	Where
13	AWWA Water Quality Technology Conference (WQTC)American Water Works AssociationWater lab, treatment and compliance staff	Nov 15–19, 2026	Memphis, Tenn.
14	ACWA Fall Conference & ExpoAssociation of California Water AgenciesCalifornia water agency managers and board members	Dec 1–3, 2026	Anaheim, Calif.
15	NRWA Rural Water RallyNational Rural Water AssociationSmall and rural water system managers and board members	Feb 1–3, 2027	Washington, D.C.
16	NACWA Winter ConferenceNational Association of Clean Water AgenciesLeaders of public clean-water utilities	Feb 2–5, 2027	Houston, Texas
17	Utility Management ConferenceAWWA and Water Environment FederationUtility general managers, finance and asset-management leaders	Feb 16–19, 2027	Vancouver, B.C., Canada
18	WateReuse SymposiumWateReuse AssociationWater reuse utilities, engineers and regulators	Mar 1–4, 2027	Las Vegas, Nev.
19	Texas WaterTexas AWWA and Water Environment Association of TexasTexas water and wastewater utility staff	Mar 30–Apr 2, 2027	Houston, Texas
20	ACWA Spring Conference & ExpoAssociation of California Water AgenciesCalifornia water agency managers and board members	May 11–13, 2027	San Francisco, Calif.
21	WEF Collection Systems, Stormwater & Watershed ConferenceWater Environment FederationCollection system and stormwater managers	May 19–21, 2027	Indianapolis, Ind.
22	AWWA ACE27 (Annual Conference & Exposition)American Water Works AssociationDrinking water utility leaders, operators and engineers	Jun 13–16, 2027	San Diego, Calif.
23	NACWA Utility Leadership Conference & Annual MeetingNational Association of Clean Water AgenciesClean-water utility executives	Jul 13–16, 2027	Anchorage, Alaska
24	WEFTECWater Environment FederationWastewater and water-quality professionals	Sep 25–29, 2027	Chicago, Ill.
25	NAWC Water SummitNational Association of Water CompaniesInvestor-owned water utility executives	Sep 27–28, 2027	Coronado, Calif.
26	One Water SummitUS Water AllianceWater utility CEOs, city officials and policy leaders	Nov 1–5, 2027	Hawaii (city TBA)

Natural gas

4 conferences. Gas utility operations, finance and public gas system meetings.

#	Conference	Next dates	Where
27	APGA Legislative SummitAmerican Public Gas AssociationPublic gas system managers meeting with Congress	Jan 25–28, 2027	Washington, D.C.
28	AGA Operations Conference & Biennial ExhibitionAmerican Gas AssociationGas utility operations, engineering and safety leaders	Apr 25–30, 2027	Oxon Hill, Md.
29	AGA Financial ForumAmerican Gas AssociationGas utility CFOs and treasury staff	May 15–18, 2027	Orlando, Fla.
30	APGA Annual ConferenceAmerican Public Gas AssociationManagers of public (municipal) gas systems	Jul 25–28, 2027	Snowbird, Utah

Regulators and energy policy

4 conferences. Where state utility commissioners, consumer advocates and state energy officials meet.

#	Conference	Next dates	Where
31	NARUC Annual Meeting & Education ConferenceNational Association of Regulatory Utility CommissionersState utility commissioners and staff	Nov 8–11, 2026	San Juan, P.R.
32	NASUCA Annual MeetingNational Association of State Utility Consumer AdvocatesState utility consumer advocates	Nov 16–18, 2026	New Orleans, La.
33	NARUC Winter Policy SummitNational Association of Regulatory Utility CommissionersState utility commissioners and federal officials	Feb 7–10, 2027	Washington, D.C.
34	NASEO Energy Policy Outlook ConferenceNational Association of State Energy OfficialsState energy offices and federal officials	Feb 22–25, 2027	Washington, D.C.

Utility technology, customer experience and workforce

7 conferences. Utility telecom, demand-side programs, customer experience, equipment and workforce events.

#	Conference	Next dates	Where
35	PLMA Fall ConferencePeak Load Management AllianceDemand response and load-flexibility program managers	Nov 10–12, 2026	Seattle, Wash.
36	CEWD Workforce Development SummitCenter for Energy Workforce DevelopmentUtility HR, workforce and training leaders	Nov 17–19, 2026	National Harbor, Md.
37	AESP Annual Conference & ExpoAssociation of Energy Services ProfessionalsUtility energy-efficiency and customer program staff	Feb 8–11, 2027	Nashville, Tenn.
38	UTC Telecom & TechnologyUtilities Technology CouncilUtility telecom, OT, IT and cybersecurity staff	May 17–20, 2027	Las Vegas, Nev.
39	E Source ForumE SourceUtility customer experience, marketing and DSM leaders	Sep 14–16, 2027	Denver, Colo.
40	The Utility ExpoAssociation of Equipment ManufacturersUtility construction, equipment and fleet buyers	Oct 5–7, 2027	Louisville, Ky.
41	IUCX Conference (formerly CS Week)Innovate UtilityCXUtility customer service, billing and CX staff	2027 dates TBA	Location TBA

Match the show to the buyer

If you sell…	Start with
Grid, metering, AMI or DER technology	DTECH, APPA Engineering & Operations, NRECA PowerXchange, Itron Inspire
Water or wastewater treatment and infrastructure	AWWA ACE27, WEFTEC, Utility Management Conference, NACWA meetings
Software for finance, billing or customer service	APPA Business & Financial, E Source Forum, IUCX, AGA Financial Forum
Telecom, networks or cybersecurity	UTC Telecom & Technology, DTECH
Trucks, equipment or field services	The Utility Expo, APPA Engineering & Operations, AGA Operations Conference
Energy efficiency or demand response programs	AESP, PLMA, E Source Forum
Anything that needs a rate case or policy change	NARUC meetings, NASEO Energy Policy Outlook, EEI

How to get more from a utility conference

Utility sales cycles are long, and a booth only reaches the people who walk past it. A few habits make the difference:

Book meetings before you go. Reach target utilities four to six weeks out with a specific reason to meet, such as a project in their capital plan or a grant they just won.
Know their calendar. Many utilities set budgets months before their fiscal year starts, and capital projects need board or council approval. Time your follow-up to their budget season, not yours.
Follow up within days. Qualify every conversation and badge scan while it's fresh, and schedule the next step before the show ends.
Reach the utilities that didn't travel. Most of the 2,000-plus public power utilities and 800-plus electric co-ops in the U.S. are small and can't send staff to every show. Take your message to them by phone and email so your event budget works harder.

For more on how these buyers decide, see how utilities buy, the utility funding tracker and the rate case & IRP tracker. Selling to government too? See our top 100 public sector conferences.

About this list

We checked every listing against the organizer's website, or a published announcement, on November 2, 2026. Dates, venues and formats change, so confirm on the official site before you book travel. Kensington Sales Group isn't affiliated with these organizations, and a listing isn't an endorsement.

Know of a utility conference we should add, or a date that's changed? Email sales@kensingtonsalesgroup.com.

Top utility conferences for 2026–2027.