The 2024 East River Energize Forum will be held at the Sioux Falls Convention Center, Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  The program is scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. with various breakout sessions for registered attendees on Thursday, February 1, and conclude at approximately 12:00 p.m. on Friday, February 2.

Thursday, February 1, 2024 – Sioux Falls Convention Center

8:00 a.m. Hot Breakfast/Registration
9:00 a.m. Breakout session 1 

• The History of Hydropower
  How WAPA Allocations Began and the Continued Value they Provide
  • Chris Studer, Chief Member & Public Relations Officer, East River Electric

Breakout Session 2 

• Strategic Planning for the Future in the Southwest Power Pool
  • Mark Hoffman, Chief Operations Officer, East River Electric
  • John Knofczynski, Transmission Policy Administrator, East River Electric

10:15 a.m. – Break
10:30 a.m. Breakout session 3 

• The Process of Progress
  A Primer on the Bidding Process and Rate Structures for Large Loads
  • Mark Hoffman, Chief Operations Officer, East River Electric
  • Scott Shewey, Chief Financial Officer, East River Electric

Breakout session 4 

• Data Analytics – How data is Changing Decision Making
  • Jesse Stripe, Data Scientist, East River Electric
  • Jeff May, Chief Information Officer, East River Electric

11:45 a.m. Lunch – Sponsored by NRTC

12:30 p.m. Bob Sahr Welcoming Remarks

1:00 p.m. Cryptocurrencies and the Future of Commerce
How digital currency is impacting the economy and cooperatives
Bryan Lubin, COO, Big Watt Digital

1:45 p.m. Electric Cooperative Energy Storage
Neighboring G&T’s Opportunities & Challenges with a Big Battery
Matt Washburn, CEO/General Manager, Northwest Iowa Power Cooperative

2:30 p.m. Break

2:45 p.m. Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Work
How AI is changing the way work gets done
Sara Steever, President, Paulsen Agency

3:30 p.m. A Second Life for EVs
How the Market is Adapting to Pre-owned Electric Vehicles
Brad Dumdie, Owner, Autoland

4:15 p.m. The Expansion of Hydrogen
How federal programs and Midwestern business could expand the industry
Pearce Fallis, Co-Founder & Executive VP of Project Origination & Development, StormFisher

5:00 p.m. Main Session Adjourns

5:30 p.m. Appetizers and Cash Bar

6:00 p.m. Dinner/Entertainment – Joslynn Rose, The Voice – Sponsored by CFC

 

Friday, February 2, 2024 – Sioux Falls Convention Center

7:00 a.m. Hot Breakfast

8:00 a.m. Basin Electric Update
Todd Brickhouse, CEO/General Manager, Basin Electric Power Cooperative

8:45 a.m. The Future of Flight is Here
How Drones are Changing Infrastructure Inspection
Mark Scheele, Basin Electric Power Cooperative

9:30 a.m. Break

10:00 a.m. The State of the Economy
John Suter, Vice President of Economic Research, CFC

11:15 a.m. Legislative Update
Chris Studer/Danny Brown/Mike Jaspers

12:00 p.m. Conference Adjourns

Registration Fees:

• $175 for each person attending
• $35 for each additional evening dinner guest
• $50 fee for registrations canceled after January 19, 2024
• East River will bill each cooperative following the seminar.
• No fee is charged for your East River Director.
• $100 for each virtual attendee
• Livestream links will be sent out closer to the event date.

It is very important to indicate on the registration form if guests are planning to attend the evening dinner to help us make final arrangements. East River will make all of the arrangements for the East River directors.

Registration
Please fill out the following form to register for the East River 2024 Energize Forum. If you are registering multiple attendees, a form will need to be submitted for each attendee. For assistance with online registration or to make any changes to your registration, please contact Anne Hall at ahall@eastriver.coop or 605-256-8044.

Room Blocks
Room reservations are available at the following hotel by asking for the East River Electric Energize Forum Block:

Sheraton Sioux Falls & Convention Center
1211 NW Avenue
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
(605) 331-0100
Cost: $131.00
Expires: January 8, 2024
Online Reservations