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July 27, 2017Gil C. Quiniones Named 2017 Power Player of the Year by the Smart Electric Power Alliance
The Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) has named New York Power Authority (NYPA) President and CEO Gil C. Quiniones as the 2017 SEPA Power Player of the Year.
Now in its ninth year, the SEPA Power Player Awards recognize utilities, their industry partners, individuals and other stakeholders on the front lines of energy transformation in the United States.
“Gil Quiniones understands the need for electric utilities to constantly reinvent themselves to better serve customers, both today and for the long-term,” said John R. Koelmel, NYPA chairman. “Under his strong and inspired leadership, the Power Authority is well on its way toward becoming the nation’s first all-digital utility. Gil’s forward-looking approach is enabling NYPA to anticipate and meet New York State’s constantly changing energy needs. With his strong focus on digital transformation, he is taking a major step forward in ensuring that the Power Authority’s generation and transmission assets are cleaner, resilient and sustainable for decades to come. On behalf of NYPA’s Board of Trustees, I congratulate Gil for the great honor of being selected as the Smart Electric Power Alliance’s Power Player of the Year.”
Chosen by an independent panel of seven judges with diverse experience in the electric power industry, Quiniones, and winners in six other categories, were honored at an awards dinner on July 26, during SEPA’s Grid Evolution Summit.
Quiniones is being recognized for leading the charge to make NYPA the first fully digital utility in the nation. Through full digitization, NYPA will be able to monitor power generation, transmission and use with unprecedented granularity, sophistication and precision. Rather than making piecemeal adjustments, Quiniones’ team multi-disciplinary approach reaches across all departments of NYPA, providing digital platforms for monitoring building energy use across the state, NYPA’s generation and transmission assets, as well as back office and support functions.
“More and more, our world relies on data. Making digital communication safer, more efficient and innovative is critical to the utility model and an effective smart grid,” said Judge Paula Mints, founder and Chief Market Research Analyst at SVP Market Research. “Gil Quiniones is championing strategies to make New York Power Authority the first fully digital utility in the nation. He truly embodies what a Power Player is all about.”
“Gil’s vision embraces a holistic perspective on the future of the energy industry. This type of thinking is helping bring New York closer to the goals outlined in the state’s Clean Energy Standard,” said SEPA President and CEO Julia Hamm. “Ensuring that the transition underway within the electric power industry is a smart and manageable one requires more thought leaders like Gil.”
