The SEPA Power Players Awards are the premier industry accolade that honor utilities, their industry partners, and individual thought leaders providing the vision, models and momentum for the electric power industrys smart transition to a clean, modern energy future.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today the Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) announced 21 finalists for the 2018 SEPA Power Players Awards for their groundbreaking efforts in project or program design, unique partnerships, stakeholder engagement, and more.

The SEPA Power Players Awards are the premier industry accolade that honor utilities, their industry partners, and individual thought leaders providing the vision, models and momentum for the electric power industrys smart transition to a clean, modern energy future. Awards are given in seven categories: Investor Owned, Public Power Utility and Electric Co-op of the Year; and Innovative Partner, Power Player, Change Agent and Visionary of the Year.

This years finalists were chosen from a field of 43 nominations. Winners will be announced in mid-June. All winners and finalists will be honored at a gala dinner set for Tuesday, July 10, in Washington, D.C., as part of SEPAs Grid Evolution Summit. Sports legend and energy entrepreneur Dusty Baker will keynote the event.

"Amid rapid regulatory and technological changes, compounded with narrowly-focused headlines, its easy to overlook the utilities, organizations and individuals striving to build a clean and modern grid," remarked Julia Hamm, SEPA President & CEO. "Thats why recognizing these Power Players is so important - the awards showcase the many remarkable projects, partnerships and thought leadership happening in the electric power sector to maintain a safe, reliable, clean and affordable grid for all."

A list of the 21 SEPA Power Players Awards finalists and what they were nominated for can be found here: https://go.sepapower.org/2018finalists

Renamed from the Solar Power Players Awards in 2017 to best align with SEPAs expanded mission, the program has honored outstanding energy industry utilities and other stakeholders for over ten years. More information about the program and the Awards Dinner is available at https://sepapower.org/community/awards/sepa-power-players/.

Media contact: K Kaufmann, kkaufmann@sepapower.org or at 202.494.4386.

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, standards 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.