TechAdvantage 2027The exhibitor guide: booth costs, dates and deadlines

PowerXchange and TechAdvantage 2027 run February 14–17, 2027 in San Diego. The expo opens Monday, February 15 from 4:45 to 7 p.m. with the Grand Opening Reception, then Tuesday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Wednesday 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The 2027 expo uses Exhibit Halls D, E, F and G of the San Diego Convention Center on Harbor Drive downtown. Badges are picked up at the Main registration desk on the ground level of Hall D, and the Exhibitor Service Center sits across from Hall G.

NRECA members pay $40 per square foot and non-members $42, with a 10×10 minimum, so a 10×20 inline costs $8,000 for a member. That covers floor space only; your exhibit is separate, and a 10×20 rental from us usually lands between $7,500 and $15,000.

NRECA's 2027 prospectus cites 9,000+ registrants, 600+ CEOs and 978 co-ops represented from 50 states and abroad. The 2027 floor plan lists 351 exhibitors so far; the 2026 Nashville map listed 459.

Suppliers to electric cooperatives: transformer makers such as ERMCO and Howard Industries, protection and automation firms like Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories and S&C Electric, utility truck builders such as Altec and Terex Utilities, plus metering, broadband, GIS and billing providers like Landis+Gyr, Calix and NISC.

Only briefly: one full-time employee may work 30 minutes without tools at move-in and 30 at move-out. Exhibitors may not use any tools, and the painters and decorators union installs displays and flooring. Your staff may unpack and place the products you make.

Static vehicles are allowed with fire marshal approval: a quarter tank or five gallons at most, a locking or taped fuel cap, battery cables disconnected, a drip pan under the drive train and no moving during show hours. Electric vehicles must have the battery or ignition fuse disconnected.

Inline backwalls stop at 8 feet with 4-foot side walls; perimeter booths may reach 14 feet. Islands of 400 square feet or more may build to 20 feet and hang a sign, which may not exceed 20 feet in height, rigged through Shepard.

Most Shepard orders are due January 21, 2027: custom rentals and flooring, the EAC notice with insurance, graphics, rigging, labor and standard orders. Electrical and plumbing follow January 25, internet January 26 and audio-visual January 31. The advance warehouse receives from January 15 to February 9, without late fees through February 5.

Each company receives two Exhibitor Full Conference badges per 100 square feet of space. Extra Full Conference badges cost $650 and Booth Personnel badges, which cover the expo only, cost $175. Badge registration opens in mid-November 2026.

Food and alcohol may not be given away in a booth unless it is part of NRECA's sponsorship program, and cooking and popcorn are banned. Giveaways are allowed, but prizes are not announced on the hall's public address system, and no sales may close on the floor.

Showcare is NRECA's official housing and registration company for 2027, a new partner this year, and NRECA says it will never call you to sell rooms. Lead retrieval and housing details open in mid-November 2026.

Space selection for the 2028 expo in New Orleans happens online in January 2027 by priority points: 10 for exhibiting in 2027, one per 100 square feet, up to 100 for NRECA membership, up to 150 for sponsorship and 20 for each ad. Points reset every year.

For suppliers to the nation's distribution co-ops it is the one floor where engineers and CEOs arrive together, and NRECA reports co-ops spend more than $9 billion a year on system assets. A smaller co-op specialist can pair it with APPA's E&O Conference for public power.