The Southern New England Energy Conference, will be held on September 14 and 15, 2026 at the Newport Marriott in Newport, Rhode Island. Presented annually since 2012, the conference draws heating fuel marketers from Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and the New York City metropolitan area, including Long Island and parts of Westchester. The show is attended by the owners and decision-makers of the companies that wholesalers, manufacturers and affiliate service providers need to reach.
The Southern New England Energy conference is sponsored by Connecticut Energy Marketers Association (CEMA), Massachusetts Energy Marketers Association (MEMA), Energy Marketers Association of Rhode Island (EMARI), and New York State Energy Coalition (NYSEC). This year, the National Energy & Fuels Institute (NEFI) has signed on as a co-sponsor for the first time in the conference’s history.
This year, the conference educational program has been enlarged to encompass 20 unique breakout sessions plus general sessions and keynotes from national and regional industry leaders. Notable tracks this year include a NORA track and the NEFI “Navigating Policy Shifts” track. Association board meetings are also be scheduled, as well as CEMA’s Annual Meeting.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14
9:00 am - 10:00 am
MEMA Board Meeting
10:00 am - 11:00 am
NEFI TRACK: Energy Choice Update. The National Landscape:
Renee Lani, General Counsel, APGA; Mark Valentini, VP of Government Affairs, PHCC National Association; Bob Wolfer, Bradford White; Jim Collura and Liam Dotson, NEFI
A panel of experts from Washington, DC will discuss coalition efforts to protect energy choice and ongoing legislative and legal battles at the federal and state levels regarding fuel bans, electrification mandates and subsidies, and building energy codes, and what to expect moving forward.
10:00 am - 11:00 am
NORA TRACK: Outdoor Tanks in Cold Weather. Effective Practices for Reliability: Bob O’Brien, NORA
This presentation addresses the critical challenges of storing and maintaining liquid heating fuel in cold winter conditions, with special emphasis on the outdoor aboveground storage tanks that represent roughly 10% of the U.S. home heating oil market. Learn how to prevent fuel gelling, filter plugging, microbial growth, and related failures that commonly occur when the temperatures hopefully drop this season.
10:00 am - 11:00 am
Don’t Make These Marketing Mistakes: Rich Carrione, Ashley Campbell, and Susan Janett, Warm Thoughts Communications
This session helps owners and leaders identify the hidden gaps in sales, marketing, operations, and customer service that quietly limit growth. Your brand is speaking long before a technician arrives—and every call, campaign, and automated interaction shapes how customers perceive your company. Attendees will learn why misalignment between your marketing, CSR and AI voice agent teams leads to confusion, lost opportunities, and wasted marketing spend.
10:00 am - 11:00 am
How to Work with Third-Party Consultants: Fred Lord and Pam Giordano, Cetane Associates
This session focuses on what makes a consultant relationship productive rather than wasted: clear scoping, realistic timelines, and defined ownership of deliverables. Attendees will learn to set expectations upfront, manage the relationship through the engagement, and evaluate whether the work actually solved the problem.
11:30 am - 12:30 pm
GENERAL SESSION: 100% Liquid Renewable Heating Fuels - Ready for Prime Time: Michael Devine NORA President; Dr. Thomas Butcher, NORA; Charlie Uglietto, Cubby Oil; Ted Noonan, Noonan Energy; Bobby Brown, Broco Energy; Jason Lawrence, Chevron
The National Oilheat Research Alliance has just completed a 2-year field study in the commonwealths of Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. 121 sites in this field study used 100% renewable fuels utilizing renewable diesel and biodiesel blends through these back to back heating seasons. SNEEC attendees will hear from the distributor participants who facilitated delivery of these fuels to the sites of the study, as well as Chevron who supplied the renewable fuels blends and Dr. Thomas Butcher, Technical Director of NORA who oversaw the field study and co-authored the research report. This panel discussion will be the first discussion following the publishing of the results of this unique and groundbreaking research report.
12:30 pm - 2:30 pm
LUNCHEON
1:00 pm - 1:05 pm
CEMA Annual Meeting
1:05 pm - 1:50 pm
KEYNOTE: Jones Act Waivers, Energy Security, and the Case for Reform: Colin Grabow, Cato Institute
Colin Grabow is the nation’s leading Jones Act expert. Given a volatile geopolitical landscape and continued pressure on global fuel supplies, Colin will walk the room through what the Jones Act is, the market data collected while the waiver has been in place, address misinformation being spread by Jones Act supporters, and comment on what it means for regional energy security and reliability and the need for permanent reform.
1:50 pm - 2:30 pm
KEYNOTE: Navigating the Next Era of Energy: Building Stronger Partnerships in a Changing Market: Karl Schmidt, Sprague Operating Resources
The energy industry is evolving rapidly as market volatility, shifting regulations, geopolitical events, and changing customer demands reshape the landscape. In this keynote, Karl Schmidt, Co-President of Sprague Operating Resources, will share insights on the trends driving the industry, the critical role independent fuel dealers continue to play, and how strong supplier partnerships can help businesses manage risk, adapt to change, and identify new opportunities for growth. Drawing on his experience in global energy markets, Karl will offer practical perspectives on navigating today’s challenges while preparing for the future.
2:45 pm - 3:45 pm
When Basis Wakes Up. Managing the Last Mile of Price Risk:
Phil Baratz and Danny Silverman, Angus Energy
Over the past several months, basis in parts of the Northeast has moved fast enough to have an effect on dealers, even the ones that hedged NYMEX exposure correctly. This session will explain what actually happened, why it happens, and what dealers can do about it without chasing noise. The focus is practical risk management: how price programs (cap, fixed, budget) stay credible for customers and still protect dealer profitability when local differentials blow out.
2:45 pm - 3:45 pm
NORA TRACK: 100% Renewable Liquid Heating Fuels. A Technical Success: Michael Devine and Dr. Tom Butcher, NORA
A seminal collaboration of the liquid heating industry came together to initiate a two-year intensive field study which included 121 participants, all of which heated their homes, businesses and universities with 100% renewable liquid fuels, comprised of renewable diesel and biodiesel blends. Hear the results of the NORA RD-BD field study from the NORA technical team that oversaw, conducted the testing and wrote the technical report that is groundbreaking for the liquid fuels industry. The SNEEC will be the first time that these results are shared with the liquid heating industry!
2:45 pm - 3:45 pm
NEFI TRACK: EVs, Truck Emissions, Drivers, and Other Regulations Affecting Your Operations: Rick Schweitzer, NEFI
NEFI’s expert Regulatory Counsel will provide updates on proposed NOx engine standards and derate concerns, the rescission of the 2009 GHG endangerment finding and withdrawal of the Phase 1 through 3 truck GHG rules, PHMSA’s study on dangers of electric vehicles carrying hazmat, and FMCSA issues such as the non-domicile CDL rule, driver-training and ELD provider self-certification, and English-only CDL testing, and the status of efforts to reform the Jones Act. This presentation follows the NEFI Keynote, so that Schweitzer can also provide a brief update on Jones Act lobbying efforts.
2:45 pm - 3:45 pm
Stop Reacting, Start Anticipating: Building a More Profitable Service Organization Before Problems Occur: Leo Verruso, Barry Aruda, Advanced Fuel Solution
Energy marketers face no shortage of challenges, technician shortages, rising labor costs, evolving fuel chemistry, changing customer expectations, and increasing pressure to improve profitability. This session will demonstrate how successful energy companies can identify predictable trends, anticipate operational challenges before they occur, and build systems that reduce emergency service calls while creating more capacity for profitable work.
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
The New Normal Isn’t Normal. Energy Outlook and Price Risk Strategies: Elaine Levin, Powerhouse
The energy outlook continues to be defined by a new unpredictability. As we navigate the supply aftermath of major global disruptions, we’re also seeing real structural change. Your local price is being impacted by evolving trade routes, changes within OPEC itself, and a realignment of who’s buying and selling on the global stage.
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
NORA TRACK: Building the Future Workforce: Strategies for Effective Training: Don Farrell and Robert O’Brien, NORA, plus Panel
Finding and keeping skilled technicians is one of the biggest challenges facing the industry today. This panel discussion will explore successful strategies deployed by hiring companies, tech schools and industry groups to keep the pathway to new technicians wide open.
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
NEFI TRACK: AI Made Simple: A Practical Guide for Home Comfort Businesses: Kendal Maughan, Adminify
Discover how AI can work for you, not replace you. This seminar introduces practical AI tools that help heating fuel businesses save time on admin, streamline scheduling and dispatch, and free your team to focus on customers. Learn how AI can improve lead accuracy, strengthen customer retention, and support smarter decision-making for sustainable growth. No tech background needed — just an open mind about how these tools can lighten the load for you and your employees. Walk away with a clear, practical understanding of where to start.
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Managing Your Cyber Risk: Dan Hitman, Federated Insurance
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15
10:00 am - 11:00 am
The Rise and Fall of Clean Heat Standards: Michael Ferrante, MEMA; Rocco Lacertosa, NYSEC; Matt Cota, VFDA; Leslie Anderson, PGANE
A number of states in the Northeast developed so-called “Clean Heat Standards” that would affect the sale of our products while increasing regulatory burdens on retail and wholesale marketers. In this session you’ll learn what these programs were, how they developed, and their current status. Association executives who’ve been on the front lines confronting these Clean Heat Standards will give you their insights and projections of what happened to these programs and where they’re going.
10:00 am - 11:00 am
NEFI TRACK: Washington and Your Workforce: Apprenticeships, Workforce Pell, and Funding Streams: Ben Brubeck, Government Affairs Solutions
The skilled workforce shortage is one of the biggest challenges facing the energy and HVAC industries. This session will examine the rapidly changing federal workforce development landscape—including apprenticeship policy, Workforce Pell and emerging public and private-sector funding opportunities—and how the outcomes of the 2026 elections could shape workforce development and apprenticeship policy in the next Congress.
10:00 am - 11:00 am
NORA Track: The Future of Energy Codes and the Transition to Liquid Renewable Fuels: Robert O’Brien, NORA
Liquid Fuels & Building Codes- Building codes have been in the forefront of the decarbonization effort and the 2027 code cycle has been particularly busy. Educating code committees on the rapid, economical decarbonization through the use of renewable liquid fuels is vital in ensuring the industry has a seat at the table in the future. This presentation will provide an overview of where we are and where we are going with building codes.
10:00 am - 11:00 am
Learn How Price is Just the Start for Households Buying Fuel: Hunter Mulhauser and Ed Several, FEWLR
Price may start the conversation, but it is rarely the only thing a household considers when ordering heating oil. Customers are also weighing urgency, delivery timing, convenience, payment clarity, confidence, and trust in the company that will arrive at their home. Drawing on FEWLR’s customer feedback process and the real questions that arise throughout ordering and delivery, this candid session examines “the good, the bad, and the ugly” of the customer experience.
11:30 am - 12:30 pm
NEFI TRACK: State of the Biofuels Market: Will the Product Be There and What Comes Next: Moderator Anne Steckel, plus panel
With federal policy now supporting biofuel production, increased blending requirements in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New York, and other Northeast states looking at clean fuel standards, what does this mean for biofuel markets, and what is the one-to-two-year outlook for biofuels policies and supplies?
11:30 am - 12:30 pm
Branding Technology and Customer Experience: Andrew Maderia, Navara Marketing; Saul Cohen, Cargas
Most propane and heating oil dealers are sitting on customer data they barely use. This session will show you how to turn what’s already in your back-office software into marketing that drives real revenue and walk out with three actionable steps you can implement today.
11:30 am - 12:30 pm
What Energy Marketers Can “Steal” from Top Consumer Brands: Michael Dobson and Gerry Brien, Consumer Focus
This session explores what energy marketers can learn from top consumer brands that excel at storytelling, personalization, and experience-driven engagement. Attendees will see how leading brands build trust, create emotional resonance, and turn customers into loyal advocates. We’ll break down practical strategies energy companies can apply across digital, social, and in-person touchpoints.
11:30 am - 12:30 pm
Who’s Interested in Financing Your Business: Jeff Simpson, Notch Capital
This panel session brings together traditional bank lenders and private capital providers to demystify today’s financing environment for fuel distributors, covering the metrics and criteria that determine whether a deal gets funded and how to position your ask for the best outcome. Panelists will address how elevated interest rates and persistently high fuel commodity costs are reshaping lender risk appetite and underwriting decisions, with a practical focus on preparing your business and your balance sheet for the financing pressures of peak winter season.
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm
KEYNOTE LUNCHEON: Policy Updates from EMA, NEFI, PGANE, Glenn Hasken, EMA; Jim Collura, NEFI; Leslie Anderson, PGANE
