PPL Electric Utilities named 2019 Investor-Owned Utility of the Year by SEPA
The Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) has named PPL Electric Utilities as the 2019 SEPA Power Players Investor-Owned Utility of the Year.
Now in their eleventh year, the SEPA Power Players Awards honor utilities, their industry partners and individual thought leaders, providing the vision, models and momentum for the electric power industry's smart transition to a clean, modern energy future.
Chosen by an independent panel of judges with diverse experience in the electric power industry, PPL Electric Utilities and winners in six other categories will be celebrated at an awards gala on Monday, July 29, co-located with SEPA's Grid Evolution Summit in Washington, D.C.
"The utility industry is undergoing a period of transition and change. As a company, we're investing in digital and physical technologies to prepare for a future that embraces distributed, digitally enhanced and carbon-neutral technologies," said PPL Electric Utilities President Greg Dudkin. "Being recognized by SEPA is indeed an honor, but also a testament to the foresight and innovation exhibited by so many at PPL who are intent on blazing new trails to better serve the evolving needs of our customers."
PPL's award was a recognition of the company's comprehensive plan and strategy to prepare for the future by creating the next generation of advanced distribution management system functionalities through its Distributed Energy Resource Management System (DERMS).
This system dynamically manages distributed energy resources (DER) connected to PPL's grid to optimize power quality, while encouraging the adoption of DER like solar. The DERMS enables PPL to host more interconnected DER because it leverages these resources to counteract some of the negative impacts that DER can have in high penetrations. Those impacts can include high line voltage or over-operation of capacitor banks.
"Now in their 11th year, the SEPA Power Player Awards received a record-breaking number of submissions, showing once again how the industry as a whole is working together to create meaningful and successful solutions to power our future," said SEPA President and CEO Julia Hamm. "From innovative platforms bringing smart homes to life, to unique partnerships implementing utility-DER customer interaction, these individuals and organizations are truly paving the way to clean and modern."
About SEPA
The Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) is an educational nonprofit working to facilitate the electric power industry's smart transition to a clean and modern energy future through education, research, standards and collaboration. SEPA offers a range of research initiatives and resources, as well as conferences, educational events, advisory services and professional networking opportunities. SEPA is founder and co-sponsor of Solar Power International (now North American Smart Energy Week) and winner of the Keystone Policy Center's 2016 Leadership in Energy Award. For more information, visit www.sepapower.org.