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Achievement Awards
2026 AEIC Achievement Awards - Nominations Now Open
AEIC Achievement Awards honor innovation and excellence in electric utility operations, spotlighting completed or ongoing projects with measurable results.
Key Dates
- April 1, 2026 – Nominations Open
- July 1, 2026 – Submission Deadline
- October 20–22, 2026 – Awards Presentation
Eligibility
Nominations may be submitted by:
- AEIC Board Members
- AEIC Member Company Executives
- Committee, Subcommittee, or Council Chairs
Submission Requirements
- Completed nomination form
- Project summary (up to 3 pages)
- Video (≤ 5 minutes) highlighting impact
Award Categories
- Safety
- Generation & Storage
- Transmission & Distribution
- Customer Service
- Distributed Energy Resources
- Electrification
- Data Analytics
- Workforce Development
- Other Corporate Initiatives
Each company may submit up to five nominations. Nominations must demonstrate measurable results or proven success.
Selection Process and Awards Presentation
The final selection of the award recipients shall be determined by an Awards Review Committee comprised of members of the AEIC Board of Directors. Winners will be notified by September 1, 2026.
Awards will be announced and presented at AEIC’s 2026 Annual Meeting to be held October 20th-22nd at Ojai Valley Inn in Ojai, CA.
Winners Receive:
- Project leader(s) invited to attend AEIC’s Annual Meeting
- One team leader from each winning project will have the opportunity to provide a brief summary of their project during a General Session at the Annual Meeting.
- Project team members will be recognized at AEIC’s Achievement Awards Reception & Dinner and presented with their award during a special ceremony.
- Team photos will be taken at the Awards Dinner and provided to the winners after the meeting,
- Company representatives will have the opportunity to be interviewed on-camera to discuss your winning project.
- A banner recognizing each winning project will be displayed outside the General Session ballroom during the Annual Meeting. Following the meeting, we will ship this award banner to you for display at your company offices.
- AEIC will prepare a press release announcing each award winner and will include a quote from a company representative in the release.
- All winning projects will be featured in an article in Public Utility Fortnightly’s November 2026 issue.
- Winning projects will be highlighted on AEIC’s website and social media channels.
For questions regarding the 2026 AEIC Achievement Awards Program, please contact AEIC at aeic@aeic.org. We look forward to celebrating your team’s leadership and innovation!
Congratulations to our 2025 AEIC Achievement Award Winners
Past Award Winners
Ameren Illinois was recognized for implementing a solution using robotic process automation (RPA) and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to reduce inefficiencies for processing and paying vendor invoices. The Ameren Illinois Fleet Services team partnered with the Ameren Center for Automation to develop a bot—affectionately named DW—that automatically extracts key data from the invoices and stores it in a shared file. Employees then review a validation screen to ensure accuracy, maintaining strong internal controls and accounting standards.
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Arizona Public Service was recognized for its virtual power plant built on customer partnerships. Over the past several years, APS has significantly expanded its virtual power plant capabilities, transforming what started as a pilot into a critical grid resource. APS now operates one of the largest virtual power plants in North America, approaching 200 megawatts (MW). This network includes thousands of customer-owned devices, such as smart thermostats, batteries and electric vehicles, which collectively act as an energy resource to reduce demand during peak periods.
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Central Hudson was recognized for development of a new tagging mechanism within its Advanced Distribution Management System (ADMS) called “Crew on Site” that adds critical decision-making logic to automated switching plans by factoring in the locations of field crews. This tag serves two critical functions: it provides a clear visual indicator to control room operators of crew locations, and it blocks automated switching for electronic devices in the vicinity of those crews.
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Dominion Energy was recognized for its Data Center Capacity Request Solution, a transformative initiative designed to meet the surging demand for electric service in Virginia. With annual capacity requests nearing 1,000MW and individual projects now requesting gigawatt-scale service, the company faced a critical need to modernize its project intake and tracking processes and systems. The solution—a robust, integrated platform combining a customer-facing portal, internal project management tools, automation, and data governance—has revolutionized how Dominion Energy manages these large load capacity requests. It delivers transparency, efficiency, and scalability, setting a new standard for customer service and operational excellence in the electric utility industry.
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Eversource Energy was recognized for Smart Detection, Safer Grid: Eversource’s AI-Powered High Pressure Fluid Filled (HPFF) Monitoring System. This in-house, cost-effective solution combines machine learning, pressure-derived pump start analysis, and real-time dashboards to detect fluid leaks significantly faster – reducing detection time from days to hours, enhancing operational efficiency and environmental protection.
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Exelon was recognized for POSEIDON–Personalized, & Optimized Storm ETR Information Delivery & Outage Notification—a cutting-edge AI analytics engine that delivers real-time Estimated Time of Restoration (ETR) during storms, offering enhanced, granular insights by seamlessly integrating historical and live storm restoration data.
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Florida Power & Light received AEIC’s President’s Award, the association’s highest honor, for NextEra Energy’s NERC Information Command Center (NICC), the industry’s first automated real-time continuous monitoring compliance system designed to meet an expanding set of regulatory standards governed by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC). Co-developed by FPL and its parent company, NextEra Energy, the NICC embodies a comprehensive compliance intelligence platform supported by a dedicated enterprise data warehouse powered by automation, AI and analytics, and smart controls—both preventative and detective. The NICC recognizes that compliance is not a static set of obligations but a dynamic, living function that requires intelligence, integration, and intentional design.
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Salt Water Project was recognized for its Operational Readiness (OpR) Program that enabled the company to add 2600 MW of inverter-based resources (IBRs) to a balancing authority with 8500MW summer peak and 3500MW springtime load.
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Southern Company was recognized for three innovative technology solutions for data analytics, storm planning, and contractor management.
RAMP is a data analytics platform to monitor all Reliability Analytics, Metrics, and Performance across Southern Company. To enhance service towards our mission, the Power Delivery Data Analytics team developed RAMP (Reliability Analytics, Metrics, and Performance), a cloud-based application to analyze, report, and address reliability issues and opportunities across the service territory.
SPEAR is an application for Storm Planning, Estimated Time of Restoration (ETR), and Reporting to anticipate and prepare for severe weather across the Southern Company footprint. It is an advanced web-based and mobile- friendly application that enhances Southern Company’s storm response capability by providing unparalleled weather and system impact prediction data.
WorkerPass, in partnership with Veriforce, is an Electronic Contractor Management platform to simplify, streamline, and fortify the onboarding process for SPC contract workers. This SaaS solution enables contract partners to capture, verify, and report critical employee information in adherence to safety and compliance standards.
Avangrid was recognized for collaborating with Boston Dynamics and Levatas to evaluate the effectiveness of robotics and artificial intelligence at substation facilities. Over the past year, Avangrid has used Sparky, an agile mobile robot Boston Dynamics developed to inspect equipment. Sparky’s infrared camera can capture thermal images to analyze temperature information and compare the phases of frequently used equipment, including power Transformers, breakers, and switches. It can also read analog gauges and monitor for anomalies outside a specified range. Sparky transforms the images and readings into digital models that notify operations if an anomaly is detected.
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Dominion Energy’s award recognizes its development of an advanced system to detect and correct “misgrids,” where meters are associated with incorrect service transformers in electronic systems. The system identifies misgrids and reassigns the meter to the correct transformer in the customer information platform. So far, the system has successfully corrected over 6,000 misgrids, leading to more efficient outage restoration, improved customer experience, more accurate grid models, and better asset management. Dominion Energy plans to enhance this system with additional features to ensure even greater accuracy and support integrated distribution planning.
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Eversource received the AEIC President’s Award, the association’s highest honor, for its Digital Transformation for T&D Inspections initiative, which deploys advanced artificial intelligence (AI) models to analyze vast amounts of data collected from their extensive transmission and distribution networks. By integrating these AI-driven solutions with a cloud-enabled platform, Eversource revolutionized its inspection workflows and empowered decision-makers with actionable insights.
Eversource received a second award for its Revolutionizing Reliability through AI-Driven Outage Predictions Project, representing a groundbreaking approach to proactive outage management. Developed in just eight weeks, this patent-pending model utilizes historical momentary outage data to predict potential sustained outages with remarkable accuracy. By forecasting outages before they occur and identifying their probable causes, Eversource has been able to take preemptive measures, significantly reducing downtime and enhancing customer satisfaction. Early testing of the model has already prevented over 150 sustained outages, which would have impacted more than 75,000 customers.
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Exelon received two AEIC Achievement Awards, including one for revolutionizing asset inspection using real-world drone images and synthetic models of asset defects. They used this combined data set to train an artificial intelligence (AI) solution that could automatically detect assets and their defects, eliminating the need for manual image labeling. This solution has minimized hazards for field crews and significantly reduced inspection times.
Exelon’s second award recognizes the development of an AI-powered chatbot, VICTOR (Virtual Instructor for CSR Training and Optimized Responses). VICTOR was developed to address the challenges of traditional CSR (customer service representative) training, including inconsistent standards and low engagement. Using a language learning model, VICTOR not only simulates realistic customer scenarios and queries but evaluates the responses of the CSRs and suggests ways to improve their accuracy, professionalism, and empathy.
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Oncor‘s Grid Echo project significantly advances how electric utilities analyze and respond to outage events. This innovative spatiotemporal data analytic platform combines data from Oncor’s Outage Management System, meters, SCADA, switching operations, and connectivity models, allowing for the replay of outage events. What once took days of manual analysis can now be completed in minutes, enabling faster and more accurate post-event reviews. The platform’s ability to visualize events in both geospatial and schematic views provides operators with a comprehensive understanding of the sequence of events, helping to improve future responses and enhance overall grid reliability.
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San Diego Gas & Electric received an AEIC Achievement Award for developing a Climate Intelligence Platform using its Digital Twin visualization software. The platform can generate detailed climate scenarios for SDGE’s service area, providing access to key insights on how climate change will impact customers and the grid, particularly in San Diego’s most vulnerable communities. Using the Climate Intelligence Platform, SDGE can also identify the assets most susceptible to failure due to climate scenarios.
SDGE received a second award for developing WiNGS (Wildfire Next Generation System), a risk intelligence platform that protects communities from threats by optimizing operational planning and prioritizing wildfire prevention efforts. This state-of-the-art system combines visual representations of SDGE infrastructure with real-time weather data, wildfire modeling, tree-strike analysis, and other critical information. WiNGS models climate scenarios and recommends grid-hardening initiatives, like ungrounding power lines in high-risk areas, to help prevent utility-related wildfires and mitigate the impacts of climate change.
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Southern California Edison received AEIC’s President’s Award, the association’s highest honor, for developing AWARE (Advanced Waveform Anomaly REcognition), an in-house suite of advanced fault modeling, signal processing algorithms, and machine learning models. AWARE is designed to utilize various real-time data sources to detect equipment failure signs and estimate their locations to aid fast, proactive, and safe field investigations. AWARE has been implemented within the Grid Operations organization since the first quarter of 2023. It has detected and located over 255 failures in the field including many incipient faults, underground faults, and capacitor issues on distribution circuitry.
Arizona Public Service was recognized for developing the Green Power Partners (GPP) program. This program enables customers to participate in the development of new clean energy facilities, influence their locations, or make long-term financial commitments. As a result of taking a proactive approach, APS has contracted for more than 2,500 megawatts of clean energy resources to its diverse power supply.
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Commonwealth Edison’s Distribution Operations team developed a versatile work positioning clamshell device prototype. This device can be easily, safely, and securely attached to fiberglass poles, allowing workers to configure it to support various work positions anywhere on the pole, without causing damage. In parallel, their Distribution Standards team worked with a pole step vendor to improve existing removable pole steps, which were too narrow for a worker’s entire boot and lacked end stops to prevent slipping. The enhancements include wider pole steps that comfortably accommodate a line worker’s boot, significantly improving safety and reducing climbing and work positioning fatigue.
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Eversource received two awards for improving reliability and efficiency of power delivery systems. To enhance reliability and reduce restoration time, Eversource developed Safe Restoration Using Rapid Mobile Technologies. This innovative solution earned the prestigious AEIC President’s Award for its ability to swiftly address broken pole trouble spots, enabling rapid deployment, secure wire installation, and energization within as few as 30 minutes. Eversource was also rewarded for its Innovation in Distribution Asset Management project. The company’s commitment to safety and reliability led to the creation of AVICEN, a tool for managing distribution assets.
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Exelon was recognized for its Utilizing Spatiotemporal Data Analytics to Pinpoint Outage Location project. This project has garnered widespread recognition for its impact on identifying and resolving distribution system faults stemming from various factors, including equipment failures and structural damage caused by weather-related events. Exelon’s Analytics Team has developed a solution to enhance the efficiency of identifying potential outage locations. Leveraging OMS data, Asset GIS data, and Vehicle Location data, this tool empowers engineers to pinpoint fault locations with unprecedented precision.
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Florida Power & Light Company (FPL): was recognized for FPLAir One, a full-sized fixed-wing drone for energy infrastructure assessment. FPLAir One is the first drone of its kind to be deployed outside of FAA test sites for commercial use.
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Orange & Rockland Utilities received two awards for its innovative approaches to customer service and electric vehicle charging. O&R earned the prestigious AEIC President’s Award for its Credit and Collections Analytics project, launched in 2022 in response to the economic challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. This program benefits customers by providing more information to those customers seeking payment assistance and affording customers who plan to pay additional time to make payments. In addition, O&R’s E-Mobility team is being honored for launching the Electric Vehicle (EV) Charger Siting Tool.Since the launch of the EV Charging Siting Tool, O&R has witnessed a 197% increase in EV charging station plugs submitted compared to the pre-tool period.
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Pacific Gas & Electric was recognized for taking resolute action to mitigate extreme wildfire risk in high fire risk areas by launching the Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings (EPSS) program. This program has impacted wildfire prevention by focusing on faster fault interruptions, reducing single-phase operation, and detecting high-impedance faults.
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San Diego Gas & Electric was recognized for recognized for its Distribution Falling Conductor Protection (FCP) system, a significant leap in wildfire safety. FCP offers rapid detection, responding in under half a second on average to falling energized conductors, which typically take 1.37 seconds to hit the ground.
Con Edison, Inc.: was recognized for an initiative that improved power delivery through the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI). The new smart meters provide more visibility into system conditions, so Con Edison can avoid service problems and respond more quickly to outages that do occur. Con Edison’s customers are able to get more information about their energy usage, allowing them to manage their consumption, save money, and reduce emissions.
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Eversource: was recognized for its Cape Cod Energy Storage microgrid project. Eversource constructed a 24.9 MW / 38 MWh lithium-ion battery system as a backup power source for the Cape Cod region of Massachusetts. This ground-breaking project is expected to improve reliability for approximately 11,000 customers with automatic power restoration for customers in less than one minute.
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Florida Power & Light Company (FPL): received two awards recognizing multiple innovative projects. The first award was for enhancements FPL made to its customer self-service platform, including navigation in Spanish. The second award was in recognition of a mobile application that enabled FPL to reduce OSHA-reportable injuries by 24%.
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PPL Electric Utilities (PPL EU): received the President’s Award for innovations in wood pole inspection. Its novel resistance drill-based inspection method has improved detection of pole failures and decay, and reduced inspection cost and duration. PPL EU received a second award in recognition of its Distribution Protection Analysis Toolkit (DPAT). This tool was developed in partnership with the Electric Power Research Institute, and it allows PPL EU to automate the checking of protection settings as the grid is reconfigured. This eliminates the need for engineers or technicians to undertake the time-consuming process of checking protection settings manually and allows them to instead focus on continuous system improvements.
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Southern California Edison (SCE): was recognized for the development of FORCE (Faulty Object Recognition through Computer Eyesight). FORCE is a tool designed to scan imagery, identify signs of equipment defects, and be reviewed by qualified electrical workers (QEW) for possible remediation, if necessary, by using aerial image capture. The FORCE program improves the quality of the inspection process by enhancing speed, accuracy, consistency, and time.
Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd): received an award for being the first utility to deploy an improved passive optical network. They also received a second award for the arc flash simulator developed by its safety, distribution engineering, and smart meter operations teams.
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Con Edison, Inc.: was recognized for developing the Safety Leadership System (SLS), a dynamic platform designed to improve safety standards and reduce operating errors.
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Duke Energy: was recognized for creating a concierge service team for its largest builders in the Charlotte, NC area. This was an improved customer service process that resulted in a more efficient experience for builders, developers, and the company.
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Eversource: was recognized for developing a new tool, Archimedes (ARCHIE), to assist with the detection and analysis of power outages. The tool provides a top level look of electrical networks, making it easier to identify outages, access data from a variety of perspectives, and provide resourceful approaches to solutions.
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Florida Power & Light Company (FPL): was recognized for creating iSwitch, an app that walks personnel through a step-by-step process and incorporates mandatory safety procedures and job reviews. Since its implementation, iSwitch has addressed safety concerns, reduced outages, and improved customer satisfaction.
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New York Power Authority (NYPA): was recognized for developing a private Long Term Evolution (LTE) network as a step toward its goal of becoming the nation’s first end-to-end digital utility. This network leverages innovative wireless technology and provides a seamless path to next generation 5G for both its generation and transmission facilities.
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PPL Electric Utilities (PPL EU):
was recognized for developing a rigorous model for vegetation management using residual analysis and data from the utility’s feeders and grid.
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Tampa Electric Company (TECO): was recognized for working with Emera Technologies to implement BlockEnergy, a rate-based alternative for distributed energy solutions. The program addresses the migration of customers toward behind-the-meter technologies to protect their critical loads.
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Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA): was recognized for developing and implementing a “safety blitz” process. The company’s health and services committee collaborated with generation sites to foster safer workplaces and encourage employees to focus on identifying hazards, reducing risks, and taking pride in safety.
Alabama Power Company:
Cellular Router, Power Backup, and Per-Phase Outage Notification System
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Florida Power & Light Company:
Loading Monitor System for Aerial Buckets & Power Delivery Resource Optimization Center
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CenterPoint Energy:
Resiliency Model for Electromagnetic Pulse Mitigation
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Southern California Edison’s:
SCE’s Spare Tire Application, the centerpiece of SCE’s Comprehensive Situational Awareness for Transmission (CSAT) Initiative
American Electric Power Company:
Byllesby Battery Project
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Florida Power & Light Company:
Intelligent Feeder Assessment Process
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Hawaiian Electric Company:
Schofield Generating Station
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PPL Electric Utilities:
Downed Conductor Safety Process
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AEIC Power Delivery Storm Team:
Fifteen Best Practices
Alabama Power Company:
Integrated Distribution Management System (IDMS)
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Commonwealth Edison Company:
Edison Bronzeville Community Microgrid
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Duke Energy:
Cardinal Electrical Safety Rules
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(CESR)Alabama Power Company:
FP&L Digital Imaging Machine Learning
Florida Power & Light Company:
“Powerful Predictors” Predicting Future Customer Outages
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Pacific Gas & Electric Company:
PG&E Energy Storage for Market Operations