Fortnightly Top Innovators 2024
Top Innovators
Each October, PUF highlights and celebrates innovators at utilities with our Top Innovator Awards and at our Fortnightly Top Innovators conference.
Law & Lawyers
CMS Energy: RNG Cost Recovery Mechanism
Top Innovators
John Beggs Top Innovator in Energy Transition: “The specific regulatory innovation is the cost recovery mechanism allowing the regulated utility to own, operate, and maintain RNG plants across Michigan and recover costs through both full-service voluntary customer subscriptions and open market sales.”
Hydro Can Power the Energy Transition or Not If We Don't Act
National Hydropower Assoc.
“There are only about 100 nuclear plants. For hydropower, there are about 2,500. A silent phenomenon is we’re struggling to get the same intensity of concern for hydropower because it doesn’t get as much attention as the nuclear plants do.”
Eversource: Early Leak Detection in High-Pressure Fluid Filled Systems
Top Innovators
Francis Upton Top Innovator in Analytics for Utility Service: “This early detection tool offers a more efficient way for field engineers to monitor potential HPFF leaks. By reducing detection time from weeks to hours, we can minimize leak duration and significantly mitigate environmental risks.”
Orchestrating the Grid
GE Vernova
“We used to call it IT/OT integration. We always knew the IT world could interact with the OT world to create new value, but it never happened in reality because of the operation and the customer sides of the utility.”
Exelon - BGE: Hazard and Strategic Trees Optimization
Top Innovators
Edith Clarke Top Innovator in Reliability of Electric Service: “The Vegetation Management Team came up with a list of hazard trees and asked BGE’s data science team to develop a tree risk analytic model. We wanted them to create an analytic model that could prioritize each hazard tree based on customer impact.”
What To Do About the Data Center Surge
PwC
“Solutions leveraging gas capacity, battery storage, geothermal generation, and fuel cells are creating a bridge to long-term electricity grid solutions. This may be the start of a trend where modular demand needs are matched to distributed generation.”
Exelon - Pepco: Electric Bus Microgrid
Top Innovators
Maria Telkes Top Innovator in Distributed Energy: “This project is a 6.5 MW microgrid. It was one of the first microgrids, the first BESS system on the system for PHI. We used new and creative technology to figure out how to get this project connected safely and reliably.”
What Do We Do While Waiting for Transmission?
Hiding in Plain Sight
“There is a mismatch of need and timing. For those growing utilities, the demands are coming faster than new transmission can meet. Transmission is part of the answer – but what can be done in the interim of this lopsided world?”
New York Power Authority: Overhead Pantograph Charging Systems
Top Innovators
William Hammer Top Innovator in Electrification: “These overhead pantograph systems are unique. When we started building, a standard didn’t exist. We were at the forefront of installing these overhead charging systems.”