The Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) has announced that nominations are now open for the 2017 SEPA Power Player Awards. Formerly the Solar Power Players Awards, SEPA Power Players seek to provide industry and general public recognition to utilities, their industry partners, individuals and other industry stakeholders that are on the front lines of energy industry transformation in the United States.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) has announced that nominations are now open for the 2017 SEPA Power Player Awards. Formerly the Solar Power Players Awards, SEPA Power Players seek to provide industry and general public recognition to utilities, their industry partners, individuals and other industry stakeholders that are on the front lines of energy industry transformation in the United States.

In addition to the awards program name change, SEPA inaugurates two new award categories for 2017 -- Change Agent of the Year, focusing on projects and programs that have produced substantive results, and Visionary of the Year, recognizing industry thought leaders. The former Solar Champion Award also gets a name change, becoming Power Player of the Year.
"The goal of SEPAs Power Players Awards has always been to raise the profile of energy industry initiatives, projects and thought leadership that have provided innovative, collaborative models for ongoing transformation in the sector," said Julia Hamm, SEPA President and CEO. "We are still strongly rooted in solar, but the name changes and new categories this year reflect our own and the industrys expanded view of solar and other distributed energy resources."
"We want to encourage the broadest possible range of nominations, for projects, groups and individuals," Hamm said.
SEPA Power Players categories open for nominations are:
• Investor-owned Utility of the Year
• Public Power Utility of the Year
• Electric Cooperative Utility of the Year
• Innovative Partner of the Year
• Power Player of the Year (individual)
• Change Agent of the Year
• Visionary of the Year
To submit a nomination or for more information, visit SEPAPower.org. Power Player winners will be recognized at an awards dinner on July 26, during SEPAs Grid Evolution Summit - A National Town Meeting in Washington, D.C.
"As a very small utility, winning SEPAs Public Power Utility of the Year award last year was a tremendous honor for our community," said Don Harrod, Village Administrator of Minster, Ohio, which was recognized for an innovative solar-plus-storage project. "I dont think we had realized how important our project was to the industry, but the SEPA award emphasized how our community overcame government and market obstacles, demonstrating that we were forward-thinking leaders."
About SEPA:
The Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) is an educational nonprofit working to facilitate the utility industrys transition to a clean energy future through education, research and collaboration. SEPA offers a range of research initiatives and resources, as well as conferences, educational events and professional networking opportunities. SEPA is founder and co-sponsor of Solar Power International and winner of the Keystone Policy Centers 2016 Leadership in Energy Award. For more information visit www.sepapower.org.