meet the WInners
of the
2026 PLMA Awards
of Excellence!
Con Edison
for Demand Response as a Frontline Reliability Resource in Brownsville
During a June 2025 heatwave when three consecutive 100-degree days caused two sub-transmission feeder outages at Con Edison’s Brownsville substation, the utility needed to protect 150,000 customers in Brooklyn and Queens, NY from extended outages. Con Edison addressed this challenge by dispatching a carefully designed DR portfolio alongside portable generators and utility-owned storage to supplement local capacity and keep its equipment within operating limits while it made repairs.
As a result, across 14 events and 77 event-hours, Con Edison’s customers delivered 476 MWh of verified load reduction with an average performance of 94%. This 2-3% peak load reduction kept equipment within safe limits and prevented customer outages during repairs. As a result, the Brownsville project offers a scalable model for utility emergency response for when similar constraints and extreme temperatures arise.
LUMA ENERGY and Tesla
for a Puerto Rico Virtual Power Plant
WEBINAR: July 23, 2026 | 12:30 to 1:00 pm ET
In response to Puerto Rico’s 2025 energy emergency, grid operator LUMA integrated Tesla’s Powerwall VPP and leveraged home batteries on the island to send power to the grid, providing immediate grid support and avoiding costly new infrastructure and other lengthy permit-requiring alternatives.
The software-driven VPP platform made it possible to dispatch up to 50 MW of reliable power from Powerwall households to the grid, meeting peak demand for ~200,000 homes. LUMA used this VPP over 30 times in 2025 to serve its customers. Meanwhile, Powerwall households kept control of their backup reserves and got paid per kilowatt-hour supplied. Participant payouts were made through existing DR tariffs.
LUMA’s and Tesla’s scalable approach has been enhanced by Puerto Rico’s increasing rate of solar adoption, which is key to LUMA’s ability to provide resilient, sustainable, and affordable energy to its customers.
Con Edison's SmartCharge Commercial Vehicle Managed Charging Incentive Program
Launched in January 2024, Con Edison’s SmartCharge Commercial Program is the nation’s first managed charging program that harmonizes rapidly growing EV charging demand with local grid constraints, while also creating a meaningful recurring value for customers. Serving New York City and Westchester, the program has to date achieved over 30% market adoption with 340 enrolled sites representing 90 MW of capacity.
Eligible program participants span use cases including public stations, workplaces, multifamily sites, charging hubs, light‑, medium‑, and heavy‑duty fleets, and industrial facilities, ensuring broad coverage across the region. Con Edison’s incentive structure also promotes grid-beneficial behavior, offers $239M in incentives, and supports the state’s climate goals by deferring infrastructure upgrades. Ultimately, the SmartCharge program provides a scalable, technology-agnostic template for all utilities to consider.
PLMA's 2026 AwardS of Excellence Finalists
Winners of the 2026 Awards of Excellence were selected from a group of finalist nominations that also recognized these organizations:
Xcel Energy’s Minnesota Demand Management Program
with Michaels Energy
Evergy’s Energy Shift Capacity Program
with Renew Home
PSEG Long Island Scales EV Management
through Bidgely’s UtilityAI
Con Edison’s FIX Flexible Connection Pilot
with Itron and The Mobility House
Torus Scales Mesh Energy Infrastructure
for Grid Reliability
learn more via PLMA's upcoming webinars
These winning initiatives will each be featured in a PLMA Load Management Dialogue (webinar) this Summer and Fall. All PLMA webinars are recorded and are also made available on PLMA’s YouTube Channel, and broadcast over its podcast, “PLMA: Load Management Dialogues.” Please check the PLMA Calendar for broadcast dates.