Deadline: December 5, 2025 @ 12:00 pm ET

Special Note:
The National Energy & Utility Affordability Coalition (NEUAC) is moving forward with planning and preparations for the 2026 Conference in Seattle, despite the current government shutdown. We recognize that this situation may affect some program leaders’ ability to respond to our call for presentations.

NEUAC remains committed to supporting presenters during this period of uncertainty and encourages potential speakers to submit topics of interest, even if funding circumstances are unclear. Your leadership and voice are especially important in times like these.

Please complete all fields to propose a presentation for the 2026 NEUAC Annual Conference in Seattle on May 18-21, 2026.

NEUAC is soliciting presentations on specific topics that improve utility affordability for economically distressed and other eligible households. In order to be prioritized for acceptance, please see below for submission requirements.

Priority Topics:
  • Artificial Intelligence and effects on LIHEAP-eligible households: Datacenters and their impact on rates, including ways to drive down rates; customer interaction with AI as part of the application and eligibility process for services; AI as a tool for nonprofit agencies
  • Advocacy: Effective storytelling and policy-driving behaviors supportive of energy affordability
  • Wraparound programs: Services offered in connection to or in collaboration with utility assistance to address overall household needs
  • Education: Energy literacy education curricula and creative outreach activities at the community level
  • Personnel and leadership development for nonprofits or utility assistance programs: Change management; supporting staff to prevent burnout; addressing secondary trauma; retaining talented staff.
Highly Recommended:
  • Presentations featuring both utility and nonprofit speakers about their collaboration to improve energy access and security, prevent disconnection, weatherize homes, and/or provide other energy savings/education programs
  • Presentations with replicable and innovative practices that are pertinent to the daily activities of nonprofit and/or utility energy assistance program staff
  • Presentations featuring or pertinent to tribes or indigenous communities
Sessions that stand out include one or more of the following elements:
  • Interactive components that involve the audience (examples: video, small group exercises, surveys, music)
  • A panel of 2-3 speakers that incorporate ideas from across the country in energy assistance program design
  • Substantive storytelling from the perspective of a utility, nonprofit, tribe, or government
Please note this is a call for presentations by energy assistance providers. No presentations will be accepted that include vendor speakers. Sales pitches, product demonstrations, and services marketing will not be considered, even when combined with another speaker. Please purchase space in our exhibit area to share this information with the NEUAC audience.

NEUAC will review and consider each presentation's alignment with NEUAC's mission of energy affordability, relevance to the network of providers, past performance of similar topics, and other considerations to build the most effective conference content.

If your proposal is not selected, please accept NEUAC's gratitude and consider responding next year.

Session Format:
Proposals are typically selected for breakout sessions, which are 75 minutes and will take place on May 19 and 20. Occasionally, NEUAC may request two proposals to be combined into a single session. Space is also available for content to be expanded to a longer preconference session (May 18) or "deep dive" session (May 21).

NEUAC provides one or more moderators to assist with introductions and facilitation of Q&A.

Next Steps/Notifications:
Proposals are reviewed by a committee of NEUAC members. Successful proposals will be selected and speakers notified before January 30, 2026. Speakers will be asked to accept or decline the invitation to present no later than February 27, 2026.

Registration/Travel Support:
Conference registration fee and travel expenses are the responsibility of the speaker/speaker’s organization. NEUAC has a limited number of partial and full scholarships to support speaker travel, which are prioritized for small nonprofit members of NEUAC, members of tribes and indigenous organizations, and recipients of program services. The application for scholarships will be provided to selected eligible speakers.

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* Primary Contact

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* Email Address (where correspondence will be sent regarding this presentation)

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* Which priority topic does your presentation address?

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* Which content areas best describe your presentation? Select up to 3.

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* Session Title

Provide the title to be used in the conference program.
Length: max 100 characters. Describe your content and catch the attention of attendees. Subject to change in review with NEUAC.

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* Session Description

Provide the text to be used in the conference program.
Length: 1,000-1,500 characters. Be clear and compelling so attendees understand what they will experience. Provide key learnings that attendees will take away. Subject to change in review with NEUAC.

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* Which audience is this session best suited for? Select up to 3.

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* Will your session include interactive elements or audience engagement, beyond standard Q&A? For example: small group exercises, handout activities, music or video elements

Standard available for all sessions: NEUAC uses the Whova mobile app, which provides ability to submit Q&A, run simple polls, and chat about each session.

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* Presenter Details

To facilitate audience engagement, NEUAC recommends 2-3 speakers for most sessions.

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* Has this session been presented at a prior NEUAC conference?

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* Is there any other information you want to share with the reviewers?

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