Three exceptional initiatives provide advanced learning opportunities for the energy industry.
Indianapolis, IN – May 12, 2026 – PLMA, The Flexible Load Management Community, today announced the winners of its 2026 Awards of Excellence, and the winner of its inaugural Emeritus Award. PLMA’s Awards of Excellence are presented annually to recognize utilities and their industry partners who have demonstrated exceptional innovation, leadership, and dedication to advancing flexible load management. The new Emeritus Award will henceforth recognize one PLMA leader annually who has made significant contributions to PLMA over many years of service.
Congratulating the Awards of Excellence Winners
These organizations’ initiatives and their teams were selected for PLMA’s 2026 Awards of Excellence from among 22 nominations:
- Con Edison
“Demand Response as a Frontline Reliability Resource for Brownsville” - LUMA and Tesla:
“Puerto Rico Virtual Power Plant” - Con Edison
“SmartCharge Commercial Managed Charging Program”
Recognizing Five Finalists for the 2026 Awards of Excellence
In addition to the 2026 Award Winners, PLMA also congratulates its Awards of Excellence finalists which include: Xcel Energy and Michaels Energy (for The Minnesota Demand Management Program); Evergy and Renew Home (for the Shift Capacity Program); PSEG Long Island and Bidgely (for Scaling EV Management); Con Edison, Itron, and The Mobility House (for The FIX Flexible Connection); and Torus (for its Mesh Energy Infrastructure for Grid Reliability).
“To qualify as an Awards of Excellence finalist or winner, a nominee’s load flexibility initiative from the previous calendar year must have significantly impacted the reliability, performance, and sustainability of energy systems,” explained PLMA Awards Co-Chair Michael Ohlsen of City of Tallahassee Utilities. “PLMA’s awards recognize projects and programs that have achieved excellence by setting new standards in flexible energy load management.”
The First PLMA Emeritus Award
In 2026, the inaugural PLMA Emeritus Award is presented to former Board Chair and current Global Load Management Interest Group Co-Chair Ross Malme of Malme Energy Consulting. Mr. Malme has been a PLMA leader since its founding in 1999 and continues to develop key content for knowledge-sharing, actively participates on the PLMA Leadership Council, and mentors up-and-coming PLMA members and practitioners.
“PLMA believes strongly in supporting our newest load flexibility practitioners and also in recognizing those who continue to actively pave the way for their opportunities and success, as Ross has. We congratulate him on this milestone first Emeritus Award,” said Awards Co-Chair Teague Douglas of DNV.
About the Award Selection Process
Through the efforts of 19 volunteer judges and four Committee Co-Chairs, all of whom are PLMA member practitioners, each award nomination is carefully evaluated by a group of industry peers. Explained PLMA Awards Co-Chair Gabriel Kjos of Portland General Electric, “these winning initiatives highlight effective approaches to meeting flexible energy loads that help support a stable, DER-integrated electric grid. They also offer valuable learning opportunities for this industry as a whole.”
To share lessons learned and challenges solved, PLMA hosts a series of webinars in which each of the award-winning teams presents a 30-minute educational webinar/podcast for all industry stakeholders.
The PLMA Awards webinar series will be broadcast from June through November 2026 and will also be published on PLMA’s YouTube channel and its Load Management Dialogues podcast for the benefit of energy professionals everywhere. The webinar schedule will be published on PLMA’s Calendar.
About PLMA: The Flexible Load Management Community
PLMA serves the energy industry as the leading association for load management experts, practitioners, and vendors to share best practices, hands-on experiences, technology advances and training, plus leadership and mentorship opportunities, all with a focus on DR, DERs, and managed charging. PLMA encourages all organizations with an interest in flexible load management to join us. flexload.org
Media Contact:
Judy Knight, PLMA
(404) 771-1122
jknight@flexload.org