March 27, 2019

Each year, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) recognizes leaders and innovators who have applied research and development to benefit their company, industry or society. EPRI’s Technology Transfer Award recipients demonstrate exceptional application of research and technology in solving a significant problem, championing a technology to support industry, or finding better ways to provide electricity to our customers in a safe, affordable, reliable and environmentally responsible way.

For 2018, four FirstEnergy employees were recognized by EPRI for leadership and innovation.

Transmission
Circuit Breaker Minimal Disassembly

Shawn Gehring, senior advisor, Transmission & Substation Services
Rick Johnson, engineer V, Asset Management

Shawn, Rick and team members from around the industry applied a novel technique that decreases the number of breaker misoperations by applying an EPRI-patented cleaner and commercial oil to lubricate circuit breakers without disassembling them. The group has collaboratively applied this technique to 232 breakers.

Distribution Support
Grid Modernization R&D Roadmap Development

Tom Pryatel, director, ED Operations Services
Lisa Rouse, director, Outage Management

Tom and Lisa were part of a team working with EPRI researchers to create a roadmap to better understand what a modernized grid will look like and how it will be created. The grid modernization roadmap lays out the current and future state of the grid; identifies an implementation plan for achieving the future state; and combines external drivers such as integrating increasing numbers of distributed energy resources, improving grid resiliency and understanding the continued evolution of communications, sensors and power electronics technologies.