NGA Convenes Governors’ Energy Advisors for 2026 Energy Policy Institute and Energy Summit in Anchorage

State and federal energy officials and industry leaders gather in Alaska to address affordability, resource adequacy and energy security amid record demand growth

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The National Governors Association (NGA) this week convened governors' energy advisors and state, territory, and federal officials in Anchorage for the 2026 Governors' Advisors Energy Policy Institute and NGA Energy Summit. Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy welcomed advisors from across the country for two days of discussions on the challenges governors face as electricity demand reaches historic levels, including keeping power affordable and reliable, protecting the grid from physical and cyber threats, and attracting the investment needed to build the next generation of energy infrastructure.

"Alaska has long punched above its weight when it comes to energy, and that's no accident; it's the product of deliberate policy and a willingness to lead," said Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy. "We are proud to welcome governors' energy advisors from across the country to Anchorage this week. The challenges states face, growing demand, an evolving threat picture, and the need to keep energy affordable, don't stop at state lines, and neither should the search for solutions. I'm glad NGA is giving us this platform to share what's working in Alaska and to learn from our fellow states."

Energy has emerged as one of the defining state policy issues of 2026, as surging demand from data centers, electrification and reshoring collides with an aging grid, a shifting threat landscape and mounting pressure on ratepayers. Governors are being asked to deliver reliable, affordable and secure power for their residents and businesses, and NGA convened this week's institute to give governors' energy advisors direct access to the federal officials, industry leaders and peer states shaping the response.

"Governors must answer for the lights staying on and the price of a utility bill, and that puts them at the center of the biggest energy decisions facing this country," said NGA Chief Executive Officer Brandon Tatum. "From resource adequacy to grid security to attracting the capital needed to build for the future, governors are leading with the kind of practical, bipartisan problem-solving the moment demands. NGA is proud to bring governors' teams together in Alaska, a state that knows better than most what it means to build and defend a secure energy future."

Over two days, governors' energy advisors, state and territory officials and federal partners worked through a full agenda addressing today's most pressing state energy questions, including:

• The 2026 energy landscape: An examination of the new challenges and opportunities facing state leaders as demand growth reshapes energy markets nationwide.
• Grid security: An unclassified threat briefing on the physical and cyber vulnerabilities facing energy infrastructure and the global market pressures affecting supply chains.
• Resource adequacy: A look at how states are rethinking reserve margin planning to account for extreme weather, surging demand, and emerging physical and cyber risks.
• Affordability: Strategies governors are using to protect ratepayers while meeting the demands of a growing economy.
• Load flexibility: How states and private-sector partners are making energy loads more flexible to get more out of existing infrastructure.
• Capital and investment: The shifting economics of the power sector and new models for financing generation, transmission and distribution projects.
• Firm power generation: Opportunities for governors to expand the range of firm power options available to fit their states' energy mixes.
• Durable policy for gubernatorial transitions: Strategies governors' energy advisors are using to build energy policies that endure beyond a single administration.

"If you talk to a governor's energy advisor in any state right now, affordability and reliability are at the top of the list, and, increasingly, so is security," said NGA Chief Policy Officer Timothy Blute, who moderated a virtual fireside chat with Governor Dunleavy to open the institute. "This institute is where advisors get past the headlines and into the real tradeoffs - how to plan for growing load, how to bring capital to the table and how to protect the grid, all while keeping costs down for ratepayers. Alaska is exactly the right place to have that conversation: Few states understand the connection between energy leadership and economic opportunity better than this one."

Ahead of the institute, NGA also hosted an invitation-only Energy Resilience Roundtable bringing together teams from the five U.S. territories, Alaska and Hawai'i, along with federal partners, to address the distinct energy resilience challenges facing island and remote grids.

This week's institute builds on NGA's ongoing work to position governors as the nation's leading voice on energy policy and to strengthen the federal-state partnerships that keep the lights on. NGA's energy policy team, led by Chris Fletcher and Dan Lauf, works year-round with governors' offices to translate energy policy developments into practical guidance for states and territories.

Check out these resources to learn more about how NGA supports governors' energy priorities:

• NGA Center for Best Practices: Energy
• NGA Governors' Advisors Energy Policy Institute
• Governors Homeland Security Advisors Council
• Cybersecurity Policy Advisors Network