'Innovation' at Marcy Wins National Award for NYPA

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Michael Saltzman
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michael.saltzman@nypa.gov

March 2, 2004

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The New York Power Authority (NYPA) has been named overall “Product Champion” for 2003 by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) for the “development, building, and testing of the Convertible Static Compensator (CSC) Flexible AC Transmission System (FACTS) device” at Marcy Substation in Central New York.

“I’m always delighted when our staff members are recognized for the outstanding work that they do,” said Eugene W. Zeltmann, president and chief executive officer of the Power Authority. “Because of EPRI’s significant standing in the electric utility industry, this award is doubly gratifying.”

The award, which was accepted by Shalom Zelingher, the Power Authority’s director of research and technology development, recognizes major contributions by industry to technology transfer or commercialization of EPRI products for end users. Award winners are nominated by EPRI staff.

The award was presented at EPRI’s Power Delivery and Markets advisory meetings and annual program review in Coronado, CA.

Kenneth Hasse, senior vice president of transmission, Ben Wong, a project manager and Zelingher were cited for having provided leadership throughout the collaboration with EPRI to demonstrate multiple power electronic power flow and VAR control applications.

“The development of the Convertible Static Compensator is by all measures a significant milestone in realizing a robust, power electronics integrated transmission grid,” said Clark Gellings, EPRI’s vice president for power delivery and markets. “The commissioning tests that were conducted in late October 2003 have demonstrated unprecedented control functionalities, particularly the Interline Power Flow Controller, where power exchange between two 345 kV lines was successfully demonstrated.”

EPRI’s collaborative research programs are designed to respond to the industry’s most pressing and expensive issues with innovative solutions that help members work smarter, do more with less, and create new value from existing assets, Gellings said. He noted that the result of such improvements is a stronger competitive position for the power provider and lower prices for the customer.

EPRI, headquartered in Palo Alto, CA, was established in 1973 as a non-profit center for public interest energy and environmental research. EPRI’s collaborative science and technology development program now spans nearly every area of power generation, delivery and use. More the 1,000 energy organizations and public institutions in 40 countries draw on EPRI’s global network of technical and business expertise.