The Bonneville Power Administration has won its first Platts Global Energy Award, the most coveted awards in the energy industry, for its development of the most sophisticated synchrophasor network in North America.
BPA officials received the award during a ceremony Thursday in New York’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel. A panel of five industry executives and 15 companies made the selection from more than 200 nominations from organizations across eight countries and three continents.
“It’s a tremendous day for Bonneville,” said Larry Bekkedahl, senior vice president of BPA’s Vancouver-based Transmission Services, who accepted the award for BPA. “And I’m so proud of our team that has worked hard for so many years to make this happen. This is definitely a fall-on-your-knees moment.”
Synchrophasor measurements are a type of smart-grid technology that can help keep the grid stable and enhance reliability, BPA says. The technology establishes a virtual firewall between generation and transmission as a way to protect equipment.
