GEF Monthly Luncheon Defend the Grid. Unlock the Capacity. (16 Sep 2026)

Wed, 16 Sep 2026 10:00:00 GMT

GEF Monthly Luncheon

Topic: Defend the Grid. Unlock the Capacity.

Speaker:

Nicolas Friès

Business Development Director, Europe

ENODA Ltd

Presentation Title

Defend the Grid. Unlock the Capacity.

Synopsis

Utility leaders face a growing paradox: they must defend service quality and grid operability while connecting more demand, renewables and storage at unprecedented speed. Yet the traditional response to constraints remains network reinforcement—often before the full behaviour and potential of the existing grid are understood. This presentation explores what prevents utilities from adopting innovation at scale and argues that the real challenge is not technology alone, but confidence, controllability and evidence. Drawing on ENODA’s approach, Nicolas will show how active grid control can release usable capacity, strengthen resilience and support better investment decisions before utilities default to further capital expansion.

Key Themes

Defend the licence to operate: Reliability, power quality and local disturbances quickly become board, regulatory and political issues; innovation must therefore strengthen operability rather than introduce new operational risk.

Control before reinforcement: Before committing capital to a constrained part of the network, determine whether greater controllability can safely release the required capacity from existing infrastructure.

Turn innovation into evidence: Utilities scale innovation when it produces measurable operating data, defensible investment decisions and a clear economic case—not merely successful pilots.

Location:

12:00–14:00, Wednesday, 16 September 2026

Hotel d’Angleterre, Quai du Mont-Blanc 17, 1201 Geneva

Speaker

Nicolas Friès

Business Development Director, Europe

ENODA Ltd

Speaker Biography

Nicolas Friès is Business Development Director for Europe at ENODA, working with utilities and energy-sector partners to accelerate the deployment of innovative grid technologies. He brings 18 years of international experience across energy, industry, decarbonisation and business development, including roles with Schneider Electric, Italcementi and Soletanche Bachy. His career has focused on turning complex technical and sustainability challenges into practical business outcomes. An Arts & Métiers engineer and INSEAD MBA, Nicolas combines strategic, commercial and operational perspectives to help organisations move from innovation pilots to scalable infrastructure solutions.

GEF Monthly Luncheon (14 Oct 2026)

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 10:00:00 GMT

Save the Date: GEF Monthly Luncheon

Location: Hotel d’Angleterre, Geneva

Status: Speaker Selection in Progress We are currently evaluating several high-caliber speakers for our upcoming April luncheon. True to the mission of the Geneva Energy Forum, our sessions provide a balanced and insightful look into the most pressing issues in the energy space.

We take pride in inviting top-tier experts to discuss trending topics and engage our senior audience in meaningful dialogue.

Notice: The finalized speaker and topic will be officially announced and sent to members no later than 30 days prior to the event.

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GEF Monthly Luncheon Defend the Grid. Unlock the Capacity. (16 Sep 2026)