Fortnightly Top Innovators 2026
Recognizing Excellence in
Energy Innovation
The people driving the energy transition, together for one night in Washington, D.C.
The Event
Why Sponsor and Attend
The Fortnightly Top Innovators ceremony and dinner convenes the sector's decision-makers for one evening in Washington, D.C. on October 29, from 5:00-8:00 PM EST — a night to celebrate the year's most significant work and to connect with the people behind it.
Five category winners are named on stage, and for the first time, attendees select the Top Innovator of the Year by live vote. Over dinner and the reception that follows, the industry's leaders mark the achievements of the year alongside the peers, partners, and counterparts who define the field.
Seating is limited.
Join Us
Ways to Join
Individual
Admission
Your seat at the ceremony, the live vote, and the networking reception.
RegisterGroups & Sponsors
Bring a table, host clients, or put your brand on the night. Group registration and sponsorship options are in the prospectus.
Award Categories
Where Innovation Meets Impact
Five awards presented on stage, each anchored by a pioneering figure whose legacy reflects the spirit of the award.
Leadership in Innovation
George Westinghouse Award
Honoring executive leaders driving bold corporate strategy and enterprise-wide transformation.
View CriteriaGrid Infrastructure, Safety & Resilience
Edith Clarke Award
Recognizing infrastructure expansion, grid-hardening, safety, and operational resilience.
View CriteriaAI, Digital Grid & Cyber Defense
Nikola Tesla Award
Celebrating AI, predictive analytics, and proactive cyber defense software solutions.
View CriteriaWater, Hydropower & Resource Stewardship
Nora Stanton Barney Award
Showcasing achievements across hydroelectric power, municipal water utilities, and the water-energy nexus.
View CriteriaClean Baseload, Gas Generation & Load Shaping
Lise Meitner Award
Highlighting advanced baseload power innovation and smart load shaping solutions.
View CriteriaLeadership in Innovation
George Westinghouse Award
George Westinghouse championed alternating current and transformed the global energy landscape through bold corporate strategy.
This award honors an executive leader or enterprise initiative that demonstrates visionary corporate strategy, culture change, and organizational transformation across the utility sector.
Eligible initiatives may include:
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Enterprise-wide utility modernization strategies and organizational transformations.
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Multi-operating-company innovation programs and cross-departmental alignment.
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Bold regulatory or business-model innovation that unlocks new customer or grid value.
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Executive-led change management frameworks accelerating technology adoption.
Evaluation Focus: Nominees should clearly demonstrate visionary leadership, organizational transformation, and measurable business or cultural impact. Both individual executive and enterprise/consortium nominations will be evaluated based on demonstrated outcomes, leadership influence, and collaborative impact.
Grid Infrastructure, Safety & Resilience
Edith Clarke Award
Edith Clarke pioneered mathematical grid modeling and laid the foundation for modern power systems.
This award recognizes physical infrastructure, transmission/distribution expansion, grid-hardening, DER integration, operational safety, and field workforce protection that strengthen power system reliability and worker safety.
Eligible initiatives may include:
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Advanced conductor deployments, DLR, and capacity expansion technologies.
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Substation modernization, undergrounding, and physical grid-hardening programs.
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Utility-scale VPPs, energy storage deployment, and automated DER orchestration.
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AI-driven vegetation management, satellite/drone hazard ID, and wildfire mitigation.
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Advanced gas pipeline safety, leak detection, and pressure monitoring technologies.
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Wearable worker safety technology, robotics, and high-voltage protection systems.
Evaluation Focus: Nominees should demonstrate technical novelty, measurable reliability/resilience/safety gains, and clear potential for replication across grid operations and field workforce practices.
AI, Digital Grid & Cyber Defense
Nikola Tesla Award
Nikola Tesla's revolutionary architectures laid the groundwork for the modern grid.
This award honors deep-tech software, machine learning applications, predictive analytics, and pioneering cybersecurity architectures that protect critical utility infrastructure and transform decision-making from reactive to proactive.
Eligible initiatives may include:
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AI-driven wildfire, storm, and extreme-weather early-warning intelligence.
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Computer vision and satellite/drone analytics for automated asset inspection.
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Predictive maintenance platforms for transformers, feeders, and heavy assets.
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Zero-trust security frameworks implemented across utility SCADA and OT environments.
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Automated cyber threat detection, monitoring, and incident response platforms.
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Secure supply-chain and device-authentication protocols for smart grid assets.
Evaluation Focus: Nominees should demonstrate technological boldness, predictive accuracy, and actionable operational integration into existing utility workflows.
Water, Hydropower & Resource Stewardship
Nora Stanton Barney Award
Nora Stanton Barney, one of the first U.S. women to earn a civil engineering degree, shaped modern municipal water and aqueduct infrastructure.
This award celebrates innovations across hydroelectric power generation, municipal water utilities, dam/aqueduct modernization, and the Water-Energy nexus.
Eligible initiatives may include:
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Hydroelectric asset modernization, pumped-storage expansion, and turbine efficiency upgrades.
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Advanced leak-detection, AMI software, and smart municipal water delivery platforms.
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Environmental remediation, water-quality chemistry, and watershed protection initiatives.
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Hydro-flow predictive analytics and generation dispatch algorithms.
Evaluation Focus: Nominees should demonstrate resource efficiency, hydraulic or environmental performance improvements, and sustainable infrastructure stewardship.
Clean Baseload, Gas Generation & Load Shaping
Lise Meitner Award
Lise Meitner co-discovered nuclear fission, paving the way for continuous, carbon-free baseload power.
This award honors advancements in baseload power innovation (Nuclear, Advanced Gas, Geothermal, Hydrogen) OR consumer software (TOU, Demand Response, EE) that shapes load to match clean generation.
Eligible initiatives may include:
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Advanced nuclear (SMR/fission), engineered geothermal, and high-efficiency thermal generation.
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Gas utility decarbonization, hydrogen blending, and carbon capture (CCUS) projects.
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Time-of-Use (TOU) pricing engines, behavioral energy efficiency, and load-shaping platforms.
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EV managed charging and residential automated demand response programs.
Evaluation Focus: Nominees should demonstrate clear carbon-abatement impact, continuous baseload availability, or measurable customer demand-flexibility outcomes.
The Winning Factors
How Winners Are Chosen
Nominations were evaluated on a 100-point scale across four criteria: business impact and ROI, technological boldness, scalability and viability, and category alignment.
Business Impact & ROI (30 pts)
Quantifiable real-world value: cost savings, capacity added, uptime improved, emissions reduced, safety incidents prevented. The strongest nominations lead with hard numbers, not statements of intent.
Evaluation Focus
Technological Boldness (30 pts)
A novel, forward-looking, or paradigm-shifting approach over incremental improvement. Excellence means a first-of-kind move, not a faster version of what already exists.
Evaluation Focus
Scalability & Viability (20 pts)
How readily the model or technology can be replicated across other utilities, regions, or markets. Top nominations show replication already underway.
Evaluation Focus
Category Alignment (20 pts)
Direct fit with the category's strategic focus and the spirit of its historical-figure anchor. The best nominations map clearly to one category rather than hedging across several.
Evaluation Focus
The Judging Panel
A panel of energy executive leaders, technical subject-matter experts, and Public Utilities Fortnightly editorial leadership ensured a fair, impartial, and consistent evaluation.
Past Winners
Explore the projects and leaders who have earned a Top Innovator Award in years past.
Frequently Asked Questions
Have questions about the event or the awards? Find answers below, or contact our team.
Be in the room this October.
Five awards, one live vote, and the people setting the pace for the industry — all in Washington, D.C. on October 29, 5:00-8:00 PM EST.
Need technical help? Contact awards@fortnightly.com