Attendees gather at the Hitachi Energy FACTS User Group Meeting 2026 registration area.
As global electricity demand surges, driven by the rapid expansion of AI, data centers, and the widespread push for electrification, the integrity and capacity of power grids are under unprecedented pressure. Hitachi Energy is stepping up to address these critical challenges, announcing its FACTS User Group Meeting 2026, a pivotal event aimed at fortifying the world’s energy infrastructure.
Scheduled for July 23-24, 2026, at the Humaniti Montreal Hotel in Quebec, Canada, this gathering will convene a diverse group of industry leaders, utility experts, consultants, and regulators. The core mission: to explore the strategic deployment of Flexible AC Transmission Systems (FACTS) technologies. These advanced systems are crucial for enhancing grid resilience, boosting transmission capacity, and adapting to the dynamic needs of the energy sector, particularly across the Canadian and United States energy landscapes.
The agenda reflects the urgency of these challenges. Discussions will delve into the impact of rising electricity demand, scrutinizing how electrification, artificial intelligence, industrial growth, and renewable energy integration are reshaping power consumption patterns. Key sessions are slated to cover functional requirements in dynamic grids, a technical comparison of Hitachi’s fast bypass devices (CapThor vs. Spark Gaps) for series capacitor banks, and the latest advancements in Enhanced STATCOM for superior grid support, even during faults and frequency excursions.
Furthermore, experts will share insights on planning and special studies for integrating massive data center loads into existing transmission systems – a growing concern for grid operators. The meeting will also emphasize lessons learned from real-world FACTS deployments, focusing on transforming these projects into sustainable grid controllability capabilities, spanning planning, execution, operations, and asset lifecycle management.
Moderated by Hitachi Energy’s Urban Strandberg and Vasista Majji, with contributions from experts at DNV South Africa, Hydro-Québec, American Transmission Company, and Pacific Gas and Electric Company, the event promises a robust exchange of knowledge. For operators and investors in the energy space, this meeting represents a critical forum to understand the technological pathways to a more resilient, efficient, and future-proof power grid. It underscores a strategic pivot towards proactive grid management in an era of accelerating energy transformation.
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