Electricity Canada’s annual symposium, Powering Partnerships is on the horizon

This event unites members from coast-to-coast-to-coast with CEOs and senior executives, corporate partners, electricity sector stakeholders and elected officials to discuss industry hot topics and learn from keynote speakers. Current Affairs sits down with Vice President of Communications and Sustainability Julia Muggeridge to chat about this year’s approach discussing the future of the electricity sector.

Hi Julia, thank you for joining us. Powering Partnerships is the biggest event of the year for Electricity Canada. What makes this symposium special compared to previous years?

Powering Partnerships was conceptualized five years ago to bring together government stakeholders, corporate partners, and member companies. This event is planned and executed entirely by a small team at Electricity Canada. If you attend Powering Partnerships, you’ll see five years of lessons learned which has evolved into top-notch programming, a beautiful award ceremony and lots of networking opportunities.

How did this year’s theme, “the future of” come to be and what do you think it means for the industry?

Like most good ideas at Electricity Canada, this one started with an article from a colleague! There was an article in the New York Times about Artificial Intelligence, and it noted that, while AI can be frightening, it can also be used for the betterment of humankind. I began thinking about how all of the different futures we reflect on at Electricity Canada are inherently good. They are good because people – who will shape the future – are good. With this optimistic approach, our team has worked to shape an agenda that sees the good in technology, in transportation, in AI but most importantly, in people.

This year you've moved from panels with industry professionals to individual talks by thought leaders. Who is on the guest list and what will they bring?

We are delighted to be welcoming six keynote speakers with a variety of backgrounds to Powering Partnerships. The guest list includes experts in electricity (of course!), technology, transportation, and artificial intelligence. Because the focus of the day is how people interact with future technologies and transportation, we have bookended the day with two keynotes focused on people. Our opening keynote is focused on the North and how we can better collaborate with and think about the people in the north. Our final keynote will bring together the days event and talk about the future of…. People: where do we fit into the future, at work, at home, interacting with technology. But don’t take my word for it- see our full list of speakers here!

The symposium agenda has six interactive keynote presentations: the future of the North, the future of technology, the future of artificial intelligence, the future of transportation, the future of electricity, and the future of people. Do you think we are ready for what comes next?

I’m hoping at the end of the day on November 21^st, we’ll have a clear picture of where people fit into the next 30 – 50 years. But, as you’ve probably noted, I tend to take an optimistic approach to these things.

What is one takeaway you want the audience to leave with after the Symposium?

The future is electric, bright and good.

For more information on Powering Partnerships visit Electricity Canada’s website.