With plant teams stretched thin and assets being pushed harder, the 2025 Power Users Combined Conference (August 25–28, Washington, D.C.) offers an unmatched opportunity to get smarter, solve problems, and benchmark with peers. The Combined Cycle Users Group (CCUG) track brings practical, plant-level insights front and center—especially for O&M leaders, engineers, technicians, and reliability staff supporting gas-fired generation.
End users registered at www.powerusers.org can preview slides from the 2024 event—material that spans duct burner failure, simulator training, SCR instrumentation, control system lifecycle planning, asset modernization, and more. What follows are day-by-day highlights of what to expect this August.
Monday, August 25 – Efficiency, Risk, and the Road Ahead
Kick off the week with Kevin Boudreaux (ChemTreat) and a two-part session on how water treatment choices impact plant efficiency—an increasingly relevant topic as plants chase lower heat rates and cleaner performance. After lunch, Jake English (Duke Energy) opens the formal CCUG track, followed by a rare DHS briefing on sector-specific risks and a GE Vernova-led discussion on “managing the third energy bubble.”
Later sessions include:
- “The Future of Combined Cycle” from Zach Johnston (Vogt Power)
- A joint CCUG/PPCUG panel on Operator Experience
- “Risk-Based Troubleshooting of Electrical Equipment” with Cutsforth and CPV Valley
- Instrument calibration best practices from NAES
- Networking at the Users + Diamond Sponsors off-site event (invite-only)
Tuesday, August 26 – Optimization, Diagnostics, and O&M Reality
The day opens with back-to-back technical talks from Vogt Power on emissions stratification and GT/HRSG upgrade considerations, followed by an ultrasound-based condition monitoring session from Distran USA. Later, HRST’s Behnam Kholghi tackles duct burner degradation—one of the most common and consequential CC issues—and James Nyenhuis (Emerson) outlines a roadmap for consistent, optimized operations.
Other Tuesday notables:
- Roundtable on SCR instrumentation interpretation led by Environex
- Case studies on formed tee inspections from Tetra Engineering
- Hands-on guidance on static starters and LCI maintenance from MD&A
- Evening Vendor Fair and networking reception
Wednesday, August 27 – Asset Health and System Reliability
Day 3 emphasizes mechanical reliability and outage planning. GE Vernova leads off with guidance on transformer maintenance and static excitation, while MD&A presents its “Five Human and Organizational Performance (HOP) Principles” for safer, more effective work. Rounding out the morning is a session on plant impact assessments related to GT upgrades and flexible operations.
Afternoon sessions include:
- “Control Valve Repair and Maintenance” by Dean Casey (MD&A)
- “Steam Path Modernization” and brownfield synchronous condenser conversions from Siemens Energy
- “Advanced Asset Care Strategies” to boost operational reliability
Thursday, August 28 – Follow-up, Roundtables, and Closing Content
While often a travel day for some, Thursday still offers strong technical content, so stick around for the following:
- GE Vernova presents on main condenser tube coatings and PSM shares an inlet bleed heat system installation at CPV Valley
- Steve Hilger leads a session on O&M best practices
- Conference closes with roundtable discussion and CCUG wrap-up
Why You Should Go
The question isn’t why attend, but why not send more of your team? With dedicated tracks for steam turbines, generators, controls, and decarbonization strategy—as well as shared events like the vendor fair and DHS briefing—every member of your plant team will come home with something actionable. The value in shared experience, lessons learned, and exposure to practical innovations is hard to overstate.
Register today at www.powerusers.org. Download the 2024 slide decks. Review your plant’s needs. And make sure CCUG 2025 is on your calendar. See you in Washington.
