Charleston, SC – April 22, 2026The ENERGIZE Retreat, offered by the Utility 2030 Leadership Collaborative (U2030) and its headline event sponsor, Avertra, isn’t a conference; it’s a full reset. Brilliantly designed, it is a one-day experience where the unexpected comes together to help utility leaders reconnect with what makes leadership effective: sound judgment, deep humanity, and real impact.

That need is clear—and growing. This year, ENERGIZE welcomes 85 attendees—up 55% from last year—with a strong ~60/40 utility-to-vendor mix and representation from 25 utility companies across IOUs, municipals, and cooperatives. Set in the historic charm of Charleston, SC, it delivers bold conversations, unexpected moments, and energy you won’t find anywhere else on April 22, 2026.

A Welcome Like No Other: Comedy + Connection

Forget stiff networking dinners. Opening night at the Francis Marion Hotel is designed for real connection—great food, meaningful conversation, and a standout comedy set from Dwight Scruggs.

Laughter isn’t incidental—it’s intentional. When leaders relax, we open up. That’s where real conversations begin.

Start Strong: Movement, Mindset, and Momentum

The day begins with optional guided walking and running tours through Charleston—designed to ground your thinking, build connections, and build energy.

From there, the experience moves quickly into immersive sessions that challenge how you think, decide, and lead.

Superhero Energy: Leadership Under Pressure

This year’s Powerfully Human theme meets a bold twist: superhero energy.

Emcees Christy Dray (SMUD) and Leah Davidge (BGE) bring it to life through an interactive experience in which attendees choose a superhero that reflects how they lead under pressure. Because the realities of utility leaders are clear: high stakes, constant pressure, and ongoing scrutiny are the name of the game. ENERGIZE meets that head-on—through honest conversations about resilience, accountability, and confidence built through real-world application.

The Customer Lens: What Actually Lands

In a multi-generational customer panel, voices from Gen Z to Baby Boomers share how utility leaders’ decisions are experienced in real life—how trust is built or broken, how communication lands, and what expectations truly look like. No filters. No interpretation. Just a clear view of impact—because every decision lands somewhere.

AI Meets Humanity: The JanisseBot Experience

Building on the ChimaBot Experiment introduced at SPARK in 2025, ENERGIZE continues its exploration of AI leadership with Janisse Quiñones (Luma Energy) and Zoraya Oliver-Griffin (LADWP).

In “Meet JanisseBot: Trust, Truth, and Leadership Under Pressure,” Bashir Bseirani (Avertra) engages a digital model he trained using Janisse’s leadership patterns, values, and decision-making approach—tested live by Zoraya, a friend and former colleague who knows her leadership style best.

What can AI preserve? Where must human judgment remain? This isn’t a demo—it’s a leadership reality check where we’ll answer these questions and others.

Hands-On Impact: Leadership in Action

ENERGIZE turns empathy into action. During the community service project, an output of the U2030 Community Service Program, attendees will build gift baskets for temporarly residents of the Ronald McDonald House in Charleston—reinforcing a simple U2030 value: leadership should always start with service.

High-Energy, No-Script Learning

From rapid-fire crisis simulations to unscripted roundtables and Ignite Talks, every moment is designed to be dynamic and real. No passive listening. No back row. Just leaders working through real challenges—together.

An Unforgettable Finish: Dinner at the Aquarium

The closing dinner—sponsored by Paymentus—takes place at the South Carolina Aquarium. With open-mic gratitude, celebration, and even a surprise announcement delivered by a diver inside a fish tank, the evening is both memorable and meaningful.

This Is Different—By Design
ENERGIZE is built for leaders who don’t need more information—they need space to think, connect, and lead differently. It’s high-energy. It’s wildly creative. It’s deeply human. And it is exactly what leadership looks like at U2030.

If you’re feeling the pull to be part of this, don’t ignore it.
Join us at INFLIGHT 2026 to explore The Golden Age of Service—and step into a day with cooking show energy, unexpected twists, and real-time challenges that push how you think, decide, and lead. It’s fast-paced, immersive, and designed to reconnect you to what great service really looks like.