The Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative (SECC) today announced the recipients of the 2024 Best Practices Awards at the 2024 Consumer Symposium, a one-day event on the consumer-focused energy transition that is held each year as part of DISTRIBUTECH International, the premier annual event for transmission and distribution.

SECC’s Best Practices Awards, now in their seventh year, recognize leadership from electricity providers in the United States and Canada in the transition to a smarter, more consumer-focused energy ecosystem. The awards highlight programs, technologies and strategies that have proven to deliver significant benefits for residential and/or small business utility customers.

Selected by an independent advisory panel of industry veterans, the 2024 winners are:

• Hydro One has been honored with the Smart Energy Innovation Award for utilizing Bidgely’s AI-driven data analytics to improve the customer experience for electric vehicle (EV) drivers and to better understand the impact of EVs on the grid.
• Avangrid has been honored with the Culture Transformation Award for developing the Digital Center of Excellence (COE), a cross-functional business unit that is responsible for owning the end-to-end customer experience and the resulting customer satisfaction.
• PSEG Long Island has been honored with the Consumer Engagement Award for successfully engaging customers in a time-of-use (TOU) rate pilot program through a rate comparison tool, personalized savings information in customer communications, updated bill designs, a multi-channel communications campaign and more.
• NB Power has been honored with the Energy Equity Award for launching a comprehensive energy efficiency program for low-income homeowners that has provided relief from high energy costs and improved the comfort of homes.
• ComEd has been honored with the Consumer Education Award for implementing the Powering Lives Resource Fairs to connect customers in need with several types of assistance, including LIHEAP, health screenings, food giveaways and more.
• Dominion Energy has been honored with the SMB Engagement Award for redesigning an existing small business energy efficiency program to help local businesses deal with economic pressures from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Over the past year, consumers and small businesses have faced a number of challenges, including high energy costs and inflation,” said SECC’s President & CEO Nathan Shannon. “This year’s winners demonstrate how electricity providers are playing an important role in helping communities meet these challenges today, while advancing a smarter, cleaner energy ecosystem for tomorrow. We hope that they will pave the way for other providers to follow.” 

Previous winners of SECC’s Best Practices Awards include Con Edison, Xcel Energy, SMUD, CPS Energy, Consumers Energy, Colorado Springs Utilities, Ameren Illinois, National Grid, Puget Sound Energy, Austin Energy and others. This year, ComEd, Avangrid and NB Power joined a small, distinguished group of multiple-time recipients of the Best Practices Awards.

More information on the winners and runners-up for each category can be found in the 2024 Best Practices Guide. The six winners will also be featured throughout the year in webinars, case studies and other content at www.smartenergycc.org.