The 2025 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. on Wednesday, February 5, and conclude at approximately 12:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 6.

Wednesday, February 5, 2025 – Sioux Falls Convention Center

8:00 a.m. Hot Breakfast & Registration

9:00 a.m. Bob Sahr Welcoming Remarks

9:15 a.m. – The State of the Economy: John Suter, Vice President of Economic Research, CFC

10:45 a.m. – Storage Technology and the Future of Batteries: Scott Bradtmiller, Renewables Developer, National Renewable Cooperative Organization

11:45 a.m. – Lunch Sponsored by NRTC

1:00 p.m. – Breakout session 

• Preparing for Distributed Generation
  • Kristi Robinson, Director of Operations, STAR Energy Services

• The Next Generation of Load Management Begins
  • Ben Pierson, Energy Services Manager, East River Electric
  • Andrew Plucker, Rates & Billing Manager, East River Electric

2:00 p.m. Breakout session

• Energy Markets Update
  • Valerie Weigel, Vice President of Energy Markets, Basin Electric Power Cooperative

• Power Systems 101
  • Chad Kinsley, CEO & General Manager, Southeastern Electric Cooperative

3:00 p.m. – A New Beginning for Nuclear: Jeremy Browning, Vice President Generation, Dairyland Power Cooperative

4:00 p.m. – America’s Story: Jeff Gould, Radio personality

5:00 p.m. Main Session Adjourns

6:00 p.m. Appetizers and Social

6:30 p.m. Dinner & Entertainment – Sponsored by CFC

• • Contae Loch Band

Thursday, February 6, 2025 – 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

9:00 a.m. Dairies and Digesters: How the Industry is Adapting in Times of Change

• Bill Melick, Senior Vice President, Project Management, REV LNG, LLC
• Lynn Boadwine, Boadwine Farms
• A1 Development

10:45 a.m. – Resource Adequacy: Keeping the Lights on in a Changing Industry: Charles Hendrix, Senior Manager of Resource Adequacy, Southwest Power Pool

11:45 a.m. – Wrap-up and Takeaways

12:00 p.m. — Conference Adjourns

 

Registration Fees:

• $199 for each person attending
• $40 for each additional evening dinner guest
• $50 fee for registrations canceled after January 20, 2025
• 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 2025 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.
*Event has passed. Registration form removed.
Room Blocks
Room reservations are available at the following hotel by asking for the Director & Employee Energize Forum Block:

Sheraton Sioux Falls & Convention Center
1211 NW Avenue
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
(605) 331-0100
Cost: $134.00
Expires: January 8, 2025
Online Reservations