Operational Technology Forum

On October 8, 2026, Texas RE and the Northeast Power Coordinating Council (NPCC) jointly hosted an Operational Technology Forum, where industry experts discussed emerging technologies and trends tied to the Risk Elements identified by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC).

The forum reflects the changes that are reshaping the Bulk Power System (BPS) as software-driven demands grow. Growing digitalization is increasing demands on the grid’s capacity and efficiency, and meeting those demands requires more sophisticated operational technology (OT).

The forum featured two panels: one on extreme weather events and wildfire resilience and another on integrating inverter-based resources (IBRs) and Distributed Energy Resources (DERs). The first panel discussed how utilities were modernizing OT infrastructure and what role it can play in mitigating outages, before delving into what investments had demonstrated the greatest impact on operational resilience. The second panel on IBRs and DERs explored the challenges of deploying those resources at scale and how operators have learned to maintain visibility and control across millions of distributed devices.

The Operational Technology Forum recording is available here. Texas RE and NPCC thank everyone who participated and helped to promote the important mission of electric reliability.