2022 USEA Volunteer Awards Presented at Annual Membership Meeting
Washington, D.C. - Last Thursday, at USEA’s Annual Membership Meeting and Public Policy Forum, the USEA Volunteer Awards were presented by USEA Senior Director Will Polen and Senior Program Director Marjorie Jean-Pierre.
USEA created the International Volunteer Recognition Program to recognize outstanding individuals and organizations for their contributions to USEA activities. The International Volunteer Recognition Program highlights the extraordinary contributions of the U.S. energy industry to support U.S. government initiatives, demonstrate global corporate and social responsibilities, and contribute to worldwide sustainable development.
The 2022 recipients are:
International Partner of the Year:
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NPC Ukrenergo, accepted by Volodymyr Kudrytski, CEO
Corporate Volunteer Awards:
- Energy Exemplar, accepted by David Wilson, CEO
- Peak Load Management Alliance (PLMA), accepted by Michael Brown, Manager, DSM Services, NV Energy
Individual Energy Volunteer of the Year:
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Andy Bochman, Senior Grid Strategist, Idaho National Laboratory
Polen, on behalf of the USEA Energy Technology and Governance Program (ETAG), presented the awards to NPC Ukrenergo and Energy Exemplar.
“I am pleased to announce that NPC Ukrenergo is the recipient of USEA’s 2022 International Partner of the Year Award. In March, two weeks after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Ukrenergo achieved its long-term goal of synchronously connecting its high voltage network to the electricity system administered by the members of the European Network of Transmission System Operators of Electricity, ENTSO-E. This remarkable wartime accomplishment is the culmination of years of engineering and diplomacy," Polen said.
"Ukraine’s synchronization with Europe dramatically improves Ukraine’s energy security and makes it possible for Ukraine to accelerate Europe’s clean energy transition by supplying it with carbon-free nuclear power. For these reasons, Ukraine’s synchronization with the European electricity grid ranks as perhaps Europe’s most important post-cold war infrastructure project. USEA is proud of its 20-year long partnership with Ukrenergo that has focused singularly on improving Ukraine’s energy security."
Polen also issued the following statement on Energy Exemplar:
“I’m pleased to announce Energy Exemplar is the recipient of USEA’s 2022 Corporate Volunteer of the Year Award. Energy Exemplar’s unprecedented contribution to the USAID/USEA Energy Technology and Governance Program is accelerating the clean energy transition in Europe and Eurasia. In cooperation with the ETAG Program, Energy Exemplar provided an extended trial of its innovative Plexos software and training to a dozen Eastern European natural gas transmission system operators. Energy Exemplar’s generous contributions to Eastern Europe’s energy security is the embodiment of corporate citizenship supporting USEA’s long term partnership with USAID.”
Jean-Pierre presented the awards to PLMA and Andy Bochman on behalf of USEA’s Energy Utility Partnership Program (EUPP).
“Our relationship with USAID has been ongoing since the early 1990s. A key element of that relationship, and a reason why it is successful, are the volunteers who contribute their time and are willing to share their best practices, expertise, and knowledge with our overseas partners. I’m always pleased to see USEA take the time every year during the Annual Membership Meeting to honor these volunteers for their incredible contributions," Jean-Pierre said.
“PLMA’s support of EUPP has played a role in assisting the Government of Colombia in achieving their goal of incorporating more renewables onto the country’s grid, while keeping the system flexible and reliable. Andy’s involvement with USEA was integral to the success of EUPP’s cybersecurity and digitalization webinar series to educate utilities on cyber standards, trends, and best practices."
View the USEA Volunteer Award brochure and the recordings of the four award presentations below.