The Edison Award is presented annually, usually to one U.S. and one international electric company, selected from members of the Edison Electric Institute (EEI). It is EEI's most prestigious award and has been presented since 1922. 

Purpose

• The Edison Award honors “distinguished leadership, innovation and contribution to the advancement of the electric industry for the benefit of all.”

Nominations

• Any EEI member company, U.S. or international affiliate, may nominate itself or any other member.
• Nominations due January 31, 2012

Each entry must include the follow.ing: 

• Nomination Form  
  (Signed or approved by a CEO)
• A description of the achievement, no more than three pages.

Selection and Judging

A review committee comprised of editors from electric industry trade publications (appointed by EEI's president) will select finalists from each membership category.

EEI will then invite these finalists to submit presentations that will be reviewed by a judging panel. The panel, consisting of the current chairman of EEI and retired industry senior executives, will determine the winners.

Criteria

The evaluation of nominees is relative and is based on leadership, innovation, advancement, and overall contribution to the electric power industry. The specific achievements for which a company is nominated should be substantially completed during the preceding calendar year.

These accomplishments may include (but need not be limited to) any or all of the following areas: engineering, construction, operations, communications, customer service, environment, finances, and strategy. 

Award Presentation

• The Edison Award is announced and presented at EEI's Annual Convention in June.

EEI Staff Contacts

• Brian P. Farrell
  Senior Director, Member Relations
  bfarrell@eei.org or 202-508-5649
• Eddie Ortiz
  Manager, Member Relations
  eortiz@eei.org or 202-508-5650

Edison Award Recipients

2011

• Cleco Corporation 
  Cleco – which operates four plants and serves approximately 279,000 customers in central Louisiana – traditionally has relied on natural gas resources for electricity generation. In 2003, Cleco began its planning for a generation strategy and fuel portfolio that would help keep prices low for customers and increase reliability. As Hurricane Katrina placed strain on the supply and price of natural gas for energy providers in the region, the company had already committed to plans for the new unit. The result is the new Madison 3 plant, which utilizes two circulating fluidized-bed (CFB) boilers to power the steam turbine generator. The CFBs – which were among the first installed in the United States and today are two of the largest in operation in North America – are designed to burn biomass, petroleum coke and other solid fuels at a temperature low enough to ensure a 50-70 percent reduction in nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions and 90 percent less sulfur dioxide emissions during combustion. The more efficient use of solid fuels afforded by the CFBs have allowed Cleco to reach a 50/50 balance of solid fuels to natural gas in its generation portfolio, compared to 70 percent reliance on natural gas prior to the opening of Madison 3.
• AES Philippines 
  AES Philippines, a subsidiary of the AES Corporation, was recognized for its successful turnaround of  the Masinloc Plant in the Zambales province. AES entered the Philippines in 2008 through its acquisition of the 660 MW Masinloc plant and became the largest foreign investor in the country’s power sector.   As a result of capital investment and operational improvements, AES Philippines increased Masinloc’s capacity from 450 MW to 630 MW, improved availability from 50 percent to 74 percent and increased net production by 62 percent within two years.  AES Philippines also improved the plant’s environmental performance, lowering emissions levels so that they are in compliance with World Bank standards.  In addition, the company reinforced its pro-active safety culture by providing extensive trainings for its people and introducing the Achievement of Excellence Award, which recognizes those nominated by their colleagues as having demonstrated outstanding safety performance. AES Philippines has demonstrated an ongoing commitment to the communities surrounding Masinloc, where it supports development programs in the areas of education, health, livelihood and environment.
• Tohoku Electric Power
  Tohoku Electric Power was recognized for its conversion of the Sendai Thermal Power Station from an aging coal-fired to a combined- cycle generation facility. With the Sendai Plant project, Tohoku Electric Power Company directed the first complete conversion of a Japanese power plant from coal-fired to combined-cycle generation.  The design of the new plant, which replaced the 50-year-old Sendai Thermal Power Station, reflects great concern for both its immediate surroundings – it is located within one of Japan’s most-visited natural parks – and broader, long-term environmental impacts.  By incorporating natural gas into its combined-cycle generation, the new Sendai Plant produces 50 percent less CO2 emissions than the retired coal-fired facility. Further CO2 reductions are expected once a planned 2000 kW solar generation system is added to the plant in 2012. The plant sustained damage from the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in March, and restoration is underway.

  2010

  Portland General Electric

• For the first time in more than 40 years, Chinook salmon, steelhead and sockeye salmon will have the opportunity to complete their life cycles in the Deschutes River basin. In December 2009 Portland General Electric and the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation successfully completed construction of a first-of-its-kind fish bypass/intake structure at their 465-MW Pelton Round Butte hydroelectric project. This 273-foot-tall Selective Water Withdrawal Structure returns temperatures in the lower Deschutes River, Ore., to historic patterns and restores downstream passage of Chinook, steelhead, and sockeye smolt, while maintaining existing generating capacity.

• Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG)

  PSEG is intrinsically growing its business by aligning the interests of the company with the interests of society, specifically in the areas of combating climate change and creating jobs. PSEG has been advocating a three-pronged energy response to climate change: promoting energy efficiency, investing in renewables, and exploring new clean central station power. In each of these areas, PSEG is creating new businesses – investing more than $ 1 billion in efficiency and renewables alone. These efforts, along with accelerated infrastructure investment, are creating thousands of direct and indirect green jobs.

• British Columbia Transmission Corp (BCTC)  and Hydro-Québec

  As British Columbia’s transmission system is aging, BC Transmission Corporation (BCTC) is committed to implementing innovative technology to provide reliable electricity to British Columbians. By adopting new methods and tools for transmission line maintenance, BCTC can deliver real improvements in system inspection, maintenance and safety. Hydro‐Québec (HQ) developed an innovative transmission line inspection robot, LineScout Technology (LST), dramatically increasing the ability for live line inspections and providing increased safety for inspection personnel. This joint BCTC/Hydro‐Québec inspection research project benefits both utilities and ushers in a new era of transmission line inspection and maintenance. This technology offers a new delivering platform and opportunities for deploying advance inspection and maintenance technologies and thus reduces costs, improving reliability and increasing safety for utilities throughout North America and the world. The project demonstrates the benefits of collaboration in developing innovative solutions.

  2009

  • American Transmission Company (ATC)
    ATC owns, operates, builds and maintains the high-voltage electric transmission system serving portions of Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota and Illinois. ATC in 2008 completed the Arrowhead-Weston transmission line, a 345-kilovolt, 220-mile-long line between Wausau, Wis. and Duluth, Minn. that has significantly improved northern Wisconsin’s reliability while easing constraints on the region’s other major transmission line, the Eau Claire-Arpin line. The new transmission line allows for the movement of larger volumes of lower-cost electricity to utilities and customers. This has led to savings of $5.1 million by electric customers after its first year in service, and the power it brings into the region helps control price spikes. Due to the high efficiency of the new line, the company estimates a savings of 35 megawatts of on-peak usage on neighboring utility systems and that, over a 40-year life span, 5.7 million megawatt hours of electricity will be saved and 5.3 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions will be prevented.
  • Northeast Utilities (NU)
    NU operates New England’s largest energy delivery system and serves more than 2 million electricity and natural gas customers. Northeast Utilities in 2008 completed a major, multi-year electric transmission upgrade in southwest Connecticut, an area previously considered by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission as one of the nation’s most severely congested. The upgrade consisted of four transmission line projects – Bethel-Norwalk, Glenbrook Cables, Long Island Replacement Cable and Middletown-Norwalk – with Bethel-Norwalk completed and energized in 2006 and the rest completed and energized in 2008. Overall, the four projects were finished ahead of schedule and under budget by $80 million. Since completion, the Bethel-Norwalk project already has generated more than $150 million in congestion-related savings. The Middletown-Norwalk line includes the world’s longest 345-kV buried, solid-core cable at 24 miles, and the Long Island Replacement Cable project includes 11 miles of cable buried six feet under the sea bed.
  • Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE)
    CFE provides generation, transmission and distribution of electrical power to 26.6 million customers - nearly 80 million people. When a landslide in November 2007 completely blocked the course of the Grijalva River in Southeast Mexico, rising waters put the population downstream in grave danger and threatened to damage CFE’s Peñitas hydroelectric power plant. CFE, aided by a crisis management team of scientists and engineers, rapidly built a channel to re-connect the river around the natural dam caused by the landslide.