Heating Electrification Workshop 2026

Details to come. 

Details to come.

Join fellow HEW2026 attendees for a Welcome Reception. 

Join Maine Department of Energy Resources Acting Commissioner Celina Cunningham and NEEP Executive Director Maggie Molina as we kick off HEW2026, setting the tone for the workshop program. This fast-paced plenary will ground attendees by providing important regional context around policy drivers such as energy affordability while previewing the opportunities ahead. Reflecting on the state’s leadership in heating electrification and highlighting emerging priorities, the team will introduce themes that will carry through HEW2026.

Speaker: Celina Cunningham, Maine Department of Energy Resources Acting Commissioner
Speaker: Maggie Molina, NEEP Executive Director

Plenary Panel: A dynamic, slide‑free conversation with leading voices in the field. Plenary Panels surface big ideas, emerging trends, and shared challenges in a relaxed, high‑impact format.

Heating electrification in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic has reached a pivotal moment. This plenary will bring together regional leaders to examine how the market is performing — across technologies, building types, affordability impacts, and state contexts. The conversation will explore the signals emerging from the past year, the pressures shaping adoption, and the strategic choices that will determine the region’s trajectory in the years ahead. Attendees will leave with a clearer sense of where the market stands today and what dynamics are most likely to shape progress moving forward.

Panelist: Ashley Armstrong, Vice President of Advanced Technology Policy, Daikin
Panelist: Michael Stoddard, Executive Director, Efficiency Maine Trust
Panelist: Robb Aldrich, Principal Mechanical Engineer, Steven Winter Associates
 

Plenary Panel: A dynamic, slide‑free conversation with leading voices in the field. Plenary Panels surface big ideas, emerging trends, and shared challenges in a relaxed, high‑impact format.

This Co-Lab invites participants to dig into one of the most consequential program design shifts underway across the region: the move from partial-home heat pump incentives to whole-home requirements. Participants will gain insight into what is driving this change and work through real life examples, comparing how different states are approaching the shift. Through facilitated small-group discussions, attendees will weigh the benefits, challenges, and trade-offs of this transition — and consider how evolving program structures shape market behavior, customer experience, and long-term electrification goals.

Expert: Toby Hyde, Section Manager, Strategic Channel Engagement, Con Edison
Expert: Lisa Coven, Lead Program Design Manager, VEIC

Co‑Lab: An immersive, hands‑on workshop led by expert facilitators. Co‑Labs blend practical content with collaborative exercises, giving attendees space to work directly with tools, strategies, and peers.

Across residential, commercial, and multifamily buildings, the region sells millions of “one‑way” AC units every year — representing one of the largest untapped electrification opportunities. This Co-Lab explores how shifting even a portion of those sales to heat pumps can expand access to the benefits heat pumps provide including lower operating costs, improved efficiency, and year-round comfort. Through facilitated discussion, participants will examine where and when AC‑to‑HP substitution is most viable, what strategies can accelerate the shift, and what barriers still shape adoption.

Expert: Lauren Eagan, Senior Solutions Manager, Evergreen Energy 
Expert: Ben Schott, Sr Program Manager Residential Energy Efficiency Clean Energy Solutions, BGE

Co‑Lab: An immersive, hands‑on workshop led by expert facilitators. Co‑Labs blend practical content with collaborative exercises, giving attendees space to work directly with tools, strategies, and peers.

This Case Study surfaces what recent field studies reveal about heat pump performance and costs — including where long-held assumptions don’t match the evidence. The presenter walks through real-world COPs, cold-climate behavior, installation cost differences, and the factors that most influence outcomes. The session highlights what the data actually shows and how those findings should reshape program expectations and strategies. Attendees will leave with a clearer picture of what performance looks like in practice — and how to recalibrate expectations accordingly.

Expert: Matthew Christie, Director, TRC
Expert: Christopher Dymond, Senior Product Manager, NEEA

Case Study: A real‑world story from practitioners who’ve “been there.” Case Studies pair a focused presentation with interactive discussion and Q&A, offering clear lessons learned and actionable takeaways.

As states look to design heat-pump-specific rate structures with affordability and fairness in mind, several key decisions emerge. This session offers a regional case study grounded in two real-world examples: Maine and Massachusetts, each of which has taken a different approach. During this session, we’ll examine what has been learned so far and the lessons it offers for other states considering heat-pump-specific rates. We will share practical lessons, insight into enrollment challenges, and emerging patterns that can help inform rate design and program strategy across the region. 

Expert: Erin Cosgrove, Policy and Programs Director, NEEP
Expert: Juan-Pablo Velez, Founder and Executive Director, Switch Box

Case Study: A real‑world story from practitioners who’ve “been there.” Case Studies pair a focused presentation with interactive discussion and Q&A, offering clear lessons learned and actionable takeaways.

The New England Heat Pump Accelerator is testing what’s possible when states, programs, and market actors commit to moving in the same direction. This panel explores how the collaboration came together, what it has accomplished so far, and why multi-partner models are both powerful and difficult. Panelists will reflect on the practical realities of aligning priorities across residential and multifamily markets — and what it takes to find common ground when each state brings its own programmatic differences, timelines, and ambitions.

Facilitator: Puja Vohra, Managing Director, VEIC

Panelist: Becca Ferguson, Regulatory Affairs Manager, Efficiency Maine Trust
Panelist: Jennifer Elazhari, Project Manager New England Heat Pump Accelerator, Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection
Panelist: Liz Reichart, Deputy Director of Building Decarbonization and Policy, Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources

Panel Discussion: A structured, moderator‑led conversation featuring multiple experts. Our Panel Discussions dive into specific issues or sectors, offering a curated, multi‑perspective exploration of topics.

Utility-led, neighborhood-scale electrification is beginning to show how Thermal Energy Networks (TENs) can work in practice. Built around shared geothermal infrastructure, emerging projects are revealing far more than their technical design; they are surfacing insights about cost, business models, and the evolving role of utilities in delivering community-level thermal networks. This panel brings together leaders engaged in these efforts to explore what has been learned so far, how the model is progressing, and what these experiences suggest for future utility-owned TENs.

Facilitator: Eric Bosworth, Principal Consultant at Thermal Energy Insights

Panelist: Isabel Varela, Science Director, HEET
Panelist: June Wooding, Manager of Clean Technologies, Eversource

Panel Discussion: A structured, moderator‑led conversation featuring multiple experts. Our Panel Discussions dive into specific issues or sectors, offering a curated, multi‑perspective exploration of topics.

Join fellow HEW2026 attendees for the workshop midpoint mixer. (Re)connect with heat pump people from all over our region.

Many a partnership has begun with a NEEP Dinner Club dinner. We hope you will take advantage of this optional opportunity to dine at local restaurants with small groups of conference attendees and NEEP staff. Let us handle reservations; we will have a meal together and split the check. Sign-up at the Midpoint Mixer.

Day Two opens with a candid conversation between the people who shape the market every day: HVAC contractors. This plenary panel brings the field perspective to the forefront — what’s selling, what customers want, and what program and policy leaders need to understand about the realities of installation, design, and decision‑making on the ground.

Facilitator: Bridget Gifford, Senior Program Manager, Efficiency Maine

Panelist: Andrew J McPartland, Owner, JH McPartland & Sons
Panelist: Josh Oxley, Owner and VP of Operations, Logix
Panelist: Tim Adams, Principal Owner, EcoHeat Maine

Plenary Panel: A dynamic, slide‑free conversation with leading voices in the field. Plenary Panels surface big ideas, emerging trends, and shared challenges in a relaxed, high‑impact format.

Room heat pumps are quickly becoming one of the most promising pathways for electrifying multifamily buildings, especially where whole-building conversions are not yet feasible. Attendees will hear how these systems are performing in lived spaces — from tenant comfort to building-level logistics. As pilots mature and manufacturers expand offerings, the question is shifting from whether these systems work to how they can scale — across building types, ownership models, and regional markets. This Solution Spotlight examines the evolving landscape, early performance, and what it will take to move from demonstration to widespread adoption.

Solution Spotlight: A close look at innovative tools, technologies, and approaches shaping heating electrification. Our Solution Spotlights give attendees practical insights into what’s working today — and what’s emerging across the region.

Across the affordable housing sector, financing is emerging as a critical lever for accelerating heat pump adoption. Community lenders, developers, and building owners are exploring new ways to reduce upfront costs, simplify decision-making, and make energy efficiency investments more financially feasible. Yet navigating financial considerations around if and how to advance heat pump implementation – and the range of available financing options – can be a significant challenge. This Solution Spotlight will explore how these approaches are evolving and what they mean for the region’s path toward widespread building electrification.

Facilitator: Kim Stevenson, CEO, New Ecology, Inc.
Panelist: John Beaumont, Director of Engineering, New Ecology, Inc.
Panelist: Kristen Fusco, Director of Residential Lending, Capital For Change, Inc.

Solution Spotlight: A close look at innovative tools, technologies, and approaches shaping heating electrification. Our Solution Spotlights give attendees practical insights into what’s working today — and what’s emerging across the region.

It's time to turn knowledge into action. Let's ensure that the momentum gained during the workshop translates into enduring market collaboration.

Speaker: Maggie Molina, NEEP Executive Director

Plenary Panel: A dynamic, slide‑free conversation with leading voices in the field. Plenary Panels surface big ideas, emerging trends, and shared challenges in a relaxed, high‑impact format.