ETS 2026, the annual Energy Thought Summit held in San Antonio, was wide-ranging, with no shortage of big topics shaping the future of energy. It spanned everything from AI to affordability to grid transformation. Rather than recap it all, here are a few signals that stood out.
The numbers said one thing: Scale, systems, technology.
~25% of customers don't understand their bill, and of those, a majority don't trust it's accurate
The human brain runs on ~20 watts, yet performs 10¹⁶+ operations per day
Only ~5% of companies are realizing real returns from AI
Utilities have only engaged customers for the last ~10 years of a 100+ year history
Today's customer base spans multiple generations with vastly different expectations
The quotes said another: People, behavior, trust.
"Customers experience the grid emotionally, not technically."
"We don't talk to customers, we talk at them."
"There can be no AI without HI. Human intelligence is what makes artificial intelligence work."
"Your brain is stronger than every AI you will ever conceive of."
"Grid optimization is no longer an engineering function. It's a customer function."
Put this all together and this isn't just an energy transition. It's a shift from building the system to how people experience it.
The industry is great at building complex infrastructure. The grid runs continuously but the customer relationship doesn't. They experience it in moments, and each one resets everything.
The day they move in
The bill they don't understand
The one interaction they remember
That's the system they know. Getting those moments right builds trust and lowers friction. That's where the energy transition becomes real.