Allentown-based PPL Electric Utilities announced Monday that several of its employees have been recognized for innovations that have improved safety, reliability and affordability.
The employees, led by Vice President of Distribution Operations Sal Salet, received Public Utilities Fortnightly’s 2023 Charles Steinmetz Top Innovator Award in Grid Operations. The recognition comes from their groundbreaking additions to the distribution system that have become the standard in grid modernization, PPL said. Salet’s team, Bashar Jarrah, manager of operations engineering and DER management; Aliesha Dombroski-Diamond, supervisor of operations engineering and energy resource management; Arun Doodnauth, supervising engineer; and Ian Mears, support engineer, implemented a series of innovations that have automated processes and improved safety, reliability and efficiency, PPL said.
“This award recognizes the work we have done and continue to improve the safety, reliability and affordability of the electricity delivered to our more than 1.4 million customers,” Salet said. “I couldn’t be prouder of how our organization is never content to stand pat. We’re always looking for new ways of innovating for the customers who rely on us so much to power their lives.”
The innovations include combining state-of-the-art automated sensors and switches with an advanced software system to reroute power around a trouble location; public safety improvements to identify downed power lines and automatically shut them off; an inspection program that uses data to determine wooden pole strength; and an automated system that checks settings on the power distribution network to enable the system to work more efficiently.
The team was presented with the award at the Public Utilities Fortnightly’s Top Innovators conference in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 10-12.