Edison Electric Institute reveals seven finalists for 2024 leadership and innovation award
Ahead of final announcements in June, the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) this week announced the domestic and international finalists for its 2024 Edison Award, praising seven different companies for their leadership, innovation and industry contributions.
“The pace of innovation being driven by EEI’s member electric companies is astonishing,” Dan Brouillette, EEI president and CEO, said. “The companies selected as Edison Award finalists are developing and applying new technologies that can go on to be utilized to benefit customers. Each finalist is tremendously deserving of this recognition.”
Domestic finalists included two Eversource Energy projects: the SmartInspect platform meant to streamline inspections of a 4,000-mile transmission and distribution network, as well as the first large-scale offshore wind installation in the United States. PPL Electric Utilities also picked up a nomination for its early fault detection technology and Southern Company slid into the running for its building the first new nuclear energy plant in the United States in more than 30 years.
For Eversource, the SmartInspect platform debuted in 2022, using a mix of advanced image recognition, AI algorithms and cloud access. South Fork Wind – its aforementioned offshore wind debut – is a 132 MW project off the coast of New York, which was built as a joint venture between Eversource and Ørsted.
Meanwhile, PPL’s early fault detection technology has been kicking around since 2021, using new technologies to identify failing electrical components. Since then, the company has committed to installing the system network-wide, given its success. PPL said it’s capable of continually monitoring infrastructure and finding defects within approximately 30 feet of their location.
Southern Company’s big moment came in the form of Plant Vogtle Unit 3, which entered commercial operation in July 2023. The first in a new nuclear push being considered amid the U.S. electric transition, it’s capable of powering an estimated 500,000 homes and businesses in Georgia.
All were selected in April by an independent panel of reviewers. Winners will be selected by a panel of former electric company chief executives and announced at the EEI 2024 annual thought leadership forum in June. At the same time, they will also select from among the three international finalists: AES Corporation for a first of its kind solar and battery operation in El Salvador, EDP for a southern Portugal-based hydropower, floating solar and battery storage project on Europe’s largest artificial lake, and the National Power Company Ukrenergo in Ukraine for unique, rapid measures taken on power restoration and protection of critical energy infrastructure amid Russian assaults on the Ukrainian electric grid.
