Energy Aspects Conference 2026: Policy, reliability, and American energy influence

26 February 2026

Insights in this post are drawn from the session: Policy perspectives on reliability, nuclear, and American energy influence at the Energy Aspects Conference 2026.

Key Insights

• The U.S. grid’s resilience during Winter Storm Fern, thanks to proactive planning and coordination.
• Nuclear energy’s growing role, with a focus on bringing retired plants back online and scaling Small Modular Reactors (SMRs).
• The U.S. as a global energy stabiliser, with agentic AI and infrastructure revival driving future competitiveness.
• The need for policy certainty and legislative guardrails to support long-term investment in LNG and pipelines.
• “Energy dominance” depends on both traditional baseload power and next-generation nuclear and AI-driven efficiencies.
  

In a wide-ranging policy panel moderated by Majida Mourad (Founder, M2M Advisors), James P. Danly (Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy) was joined by Representatives Darrell Issa and Randy Weber for a comprehensive discussion on domestic energy reliability, the nuclear renaissance, and the geopolitical weight of American exports.

James P. Danly opened by detailing the administration’s proactive response to Winter Storm Fern. He highlighted that while the grid faced nearly one million outages at its peak, the system avoided transmission failures or blackout orders due to the pre-positioning of 65,000 utility workers and the coordination of generators to operate beyond normal limits. However, he flagged New England’s continued vulnerability regarding fuel supplies. Turning to long-term strategy, Danly emphasised that “energy dominance” requires stripping away regulatory burdens—specifically citing Section 403 petitions to FERC—to address capacity shortages in markets like PJM. He positioned nuclear energy as the administration’s second largest priority, focusing on bringing retired plants back online and scaling Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), which offer a simpler, faster alternative to gigawatt-scale projects.

Rep. Darrell Issa focused on the role of the U.S. as a global stabiliser, noting the “amazing transformation” from the energy scarcity of the 1970s to the U.S. becoming the world’s leading exporter. He argued that for sanctions against adversaries to be effective, the U.S. must provide viable alternatives, such as bringing existing Venezuelan infrastructure back online. Issa also highlighted the untapped potential in Syria for U.S. producers and noted that agentic AI will be a primary driver in lowering costs by optimising resource identification and extraction. He warned, however, that America must remain a “reliable, predictable partner” for Europe to maintain its geopolitical influence.

Rep. Randy Weber echoed the need for affordability and reliability, noting that Texas has seen falling energy prices. He criticised past administration policies restricting LNG, which he argued have directly hurt economic activity in his district. Weber called for legislative guardrails to prevent future administrations from unilaterally terminating pipeline permits, providing the industry with the long-term certainty required for major capital investments. He noted the industry is “cautiously optimistic” about opportunities in Venezuela.

Throughout the discussion, the panelists returned to the theme that “energy dominance” requires a dual focus: maintaining the scale of traditional baseload power while aggressively pursuing the next generation of nuclear and AI-driven efficiencies. The consensus was clear—domestic policy, from North Dakota’s scalable projects to the revitalisation of the nuclear supply chain, is the foundation upon which American energy security and international credibility are built.