Fortnightly Top Innovators 2025

Deck: 

Awards Named for Great Innovators of the Past

Byline: 

PUF

Fortnightly Magazine - October 2025

Each year, PUF pauses to recognize those across the utilities industry who are not content to accept the status quo. Our Fortnightly Top Innovators stand out for their ingenuity, resilience, and ability to move the industry forward in ways large and small.

This month, we feature the first half of this year’s twenty-four awardees – leaders from Ameren, Arizona Public Service, Baltimore Gas and Electric, Commonwealth Edison, Duquesne Light Company, Eversource, ITC Holdings, National Grid, Ontario Independent Electricity System Operator, Rayburn Electric Cooperative, Salt River Project, and San Diego Gas and Electric.

Each of the awards is named after a pioneer whose story reminds us that today’s breakthroughs build on a long tradition of courage and creativity. In the nineteen seventies, Nancy Fitzroy rose through the ranks at GE to lead one of the largest turbine programs in the world. At a time when women were rarely seen in technical management, she broke barriers and insisted on the highest standards for both safety and environmental stewardship.

San Diego Gas and Electric and Ameren, winners of this year’s Nancy Fitzroy Award in Environment and Safety, echo her determination by addressing climate challenges and safeguarding communities.

Edith Clarke, the first woman to earn an electrical engineering degree from MIT, invented mathematical methods that made long-distance transmission stable. Her calculations opened the door to electrifying vast regions that were once unreachable.

This year’s Edith Clarke Award in Reliability goes to Arizona Public Service and Salt River Project, whose innovations in reliability and resilience keep that spirit alive in the twenty-first century.

Florence Fogler, remembered as the Grand Lady of Heat Transfer, joined GE in the nineteen twenties and became a leading expert in thermodynamics. She improved turbine efficiency and, alongside Edith Clarke, helped extend the reach of transmission.

We Build Better Paths to Grid Modernization | Read the Blog Post

Baltimore Gas and Electric carries her legacy forward as the 2025 winner of the Florence Fogler Award in Energy Transmission Technologies, driving advancements that strengthen the backbone of our grid.

William Hammer, Edison’s chief engineer, discovered the Edison Effect and brought electric advertising signs to life, forever changing city skylines. His contributions helped electrification leap from the laboratory into daily life.

Commonwealth Edison, winner of this year’s William Hammer Award in Electrification, continues in that tradition by championing projects that redefine how power is delivered and used.

Charles Steinmetz, dubbed the Forger of Thunderbolts, was the genius who translated mathematics into practical alternating current systems. He helped make the modern grid not only possible but reliable at scale.

In 2025, Duquesne Light and ITC Holdings earned the Charles Steinmetz Award in Network and Grid Operations for their innovations in managing complex systems with the same combination of rigor and imagination.

Maria Telkes, the Sun Queen, pioneered solar thermal and storage long before renewable energy became mainstream. She believed in a future where the sun itself could be tapped as a dependable energy source.

Eversource and Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator embody that vision as winners of this year’s Maria Telkes Award in Distributed Energy, proving that distributed resources can be both practical and transformative.

Nikola Tesla – inventor, showman, and visionary – remains one of the most celebrated figures in science. His work on alternating current revolutionized the industry, while his eccentricity kept him in the headlines.

This year, the Nikola Tesla Award in Artificial Intelligence goes to National Grid, recognized for harnessing AI in ways that echo Tesla’s boldness in adopting the technologies of tomorrow.

Lewis Latimer, the son of formerly enslaved parents, became a central figure in Edison’s era by drafting patents and perfecting the carbon filament that made light bulbs long-lasting and affordable. His story reminds us that inclusivity and ingenuity go hand in hand.

Rayburn Electric Cooperative, winner of the 2025 Lewis Latimer Award in Technology and Process Design demonstrates how thoughtful process improvements can light the way for the industry.

We Build Better Paths to Grid Modernization | Read the Blog Post

Taken together, these 2025 award-winning innovators represent not just technical progress but leadership and perseverance. They stand in the company of Clarke, Fitzroy, Steinmetz, Latimer, Telkes, Tesla, Hammer, and Fogler – visionaries who remind us that every breakthrough builds on a proud legacy.

Next month, PUF will feature the remaining Top Innovators and continue to tell the story of ingenuity that drives our industry forward.

 

Fortnightly Top Innovators 2025 articles at fortnightly.com