DTECH (formerly DISTRIBUTECH) is the flagship transmission and distribution event in North America. It's where the entire power utility ecosystem converges to solve operational challenges.
Here's What DTECH 2026 Looks Like:
Dates: February 2-5, 2026
Venue: San Diego Convention Centre
Scale: Expecting 20,000+ attendees, 800+ speakers, 275+ curated sessions, 700+ exhibitors
The attendee list reflects the scale of the industry itself. You'll see teams from San Diego Gas & Electric, PG&E, Southern California Edison, Duke Energy, and Xcel Energy walking the floor. Alongside them, companies like Itron (the 2026 presenting sponsor), Siemens, Oracle, and Hitachi Energy anchor the technology side. In other words, this is the one place where the entire T&D vendor landscape is in one room at once.
It's an operational showcase, not just a static gathering. It's where power companies see technology working at scale: real equipment, real hardware, and operational solutions. Utilities benchmark their modernisation strategies against what peers are actually deploying.
Bottom line?
DTECH is the go-to event for professionals shaping the future of transmission, distribution, and grid modernisation.
For the first time, DTECH kicks off on Monday, February 2. The extra day was added because the industry is moving so quickly that attendees need more time to learn and keep up. This new Monday start includes Grid University courses, hands-on workshops, and tech tours before the main program begins.
The opening keynote features Keller Rinaudo Cliffton, Zipline's CEO, speaking on "The 4th Industrial Revolution." The theme is "Transforming Connections. Today and Tomorrow."
The industry needs it. Electric power systems are facing unprecedented demands - from electrification waves and data centre loads projected to triple by 2030 to distributed energy resource integration at the grid edge. Traditional planning models no longer work. The industry is shifting from deterministic to stochastic planning just to keep pace with complexity.
And here's the thing:
This isn't future-casting. Power companies are deploying AI, DERMS, and digital substations right now. DTECH focuses on solutions that are already being practically used, not ideas that may work someday. The transformation is already underway, and 2026 is when you can see it happening in real projects and real systems.
Walk the exhibition floor, and you'll see exactly where utility budgets are headed. The major focus areas are:
The discussion in the sessions shows why these technologies aren't optional anymore. EV adoption is projected to drive massive demand increases by 2050. Data centres are adding unpredictable, high-density loads. Distributed energy resources are multiplying at the distribution edge. Utilities can't manage this complexity with traditional deterministic planning. The industry is moving toward stochastic models because flexibility is becoming essential.
Utilities have already started deploying these technologies across their networks. For example:
The results? Reduced outage times, improved reliability, smoother renewable integration, lower maintenance costs through predictive maintenance, better wildfire and extreme weather preparation, and the ability to handle rapid load growth from EVs and data centres.
With hundreds of technical sessions covering everything from DERMS deployment to wildfire risk modelling, DTECH 2026 is using Rozie Synopsis to process session content in real time and convert it into a searchable post-event hub. This gives attendees an easy way to revisit the deep technical discussions on ADMS architecture, AI integration strategies, and grid modernisation approaches they couldn't attend live.
DTECH draws utility professionals across the board - from engineers and operations teams to planners, asset managers, innovation leaders, regulatory experts, and C-level executives.
Why do they attend? Simple. The event helps them find practical solutions to reduce outages, evaluate vendors before budget planning, benchmark strategies with peers, and make faster project decisions.
If DTECH 2026 is on your schedule, here are a few things worth doing in advance:
These simple actions ensure you hit your priorities and get the most out of your time at DTECH 2026. Without a plan, attendees often leave overwhelmed rather than energised, which is exactly what proper preparation prevents
If this year's program reinforces anything, it's that the industry's biggest challenges won't be solved in isolation. DTECH's value comes from seeing real solutions working in real conditions and understanding how others are approaching the same problems. As utilities balance new loads, new risks, and new technology, seeing what actually works in real projects helps them plan with more certainty.
Utility engineers, operations teams, planners, asset managers, innovation leaders, regulators, and executives - anyone responsible for grid strategy, technology evaluation, outage reduction, or large-scale modernization initiatives.
DTECH 2026 runs February 2–5, 2026 at the San Diego Convention Center, with a new Monday kickoff featuring workshops, Grid University, and tours.
Because it’s the only event where the full T&D ecosystem gathers to evaluate proven, at-scale technologies. Utilities use DTECH to benchmark modernization plans, compare real deployments, and meet every major vendor in one place. That’s why it remains the benchmark event for the T&D industry.
Since Rozie Synopsis is powering DTECH 2026, session content will be converted into a searchable post-event knowledge hub with summaries and key takeaways. Attendees will receive access details from the event organisers by email after the conference.
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