Northwest Celebrates the 2019 Leadership in Energy Efficiency Awards

Industry honors peers for innovation, outstanding achievement and collaboration

November 13, 2019 - Portland, Ore. – On December 4, 2019, the Board of Directors of the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) will honor the winners of the 2019 Leadership in Energy Efficiency Awards.

These awards recognize individuals and teams for their outstanding collaboration, innovative solutions and significant contributions to advancing energy efficiency in the Northwest. A panel of Northwest energy and utility leaders selected the winners from more than 30 nominations submitted by the regional energy efficiency community:

The Seattle Tune-Up Accelerator Program was recognized with the Leadership in Energy Efficiency Award for Innovation. This program is a new model to help existing buildings achieve energy savings and cost-effectively meet state and city climate and energy policies.

The City of Seattle Office of Sustainability team led by Nicole Ballinger and Sandra Mallory, the Seattle City Light team led by Joe Fernandi, Ted Brown and Rose Palomo, along with technical support from the University of Washington Integrated Design Lab team led by Chris Meek, envisioned and implemented the Tune-up Accelerator program. Additional local partners included Srinivas Katipamula and Nora Wang with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and Brittany Price Quigley with the Smart Buildings Center.

The Leadership in Energy Efficiency Award for Collaboration was awarded to the Consumer Products Steering Committee, a coordinated effort among Northwest utilities, NEEA and other regional energy efficiency organizations to establish shared regional strategies to advance energy efficiency in the consumer products market.

The contributors to this team are: Cathy Anderson (Snohomish PUD), Matt Babbitts (Clark PUD), Victor Couto (Seattle City Light), Todd Greenwell (Idaho Power), Tina Jayaweera (Northwest Power and Conservation Council), Josh Mitchell (Chelan PUD), Jeff Mitchell (NEEA staff), Dave Murphy (Bonneville Power Administration), Hillary Olson (Snohomish PUD), Lis Saunders (Tacoma Power), Jeff Tripp (Puget Sound Energy), Thad Roth (Energy Trust), and Patrick Weaver (Puget Sound Energy).

Two individuals were honored this year with the Tom Eckman Lifetime Achievement Award for their lifetime service:

  • Charlie Grist of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, for his leadership on multiple numerous regional collaborative efforts, both with the State of Oregon and at the Council, where he has served since 2002. Charlie currently leads the development of the region’s conservation potential assessment for the regional power planning process.
  • Dick Stroh of the Bonneville Power Administration, for his commitment to customer service and energy efficiency during his 40-year tenure with the agency. Dick has dedicated his career to bringing cutting-edge energy efficiency solutions to utilities and irrigation districts across Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Nevada and to developing his team of engineers into the next generation of efficiency experts in the Northwest.

“We are fortunate in the Northwest to have not only some of nation’s foremost experts in energy efficiency, but also a new generation in the industry that is bringing forward new, innovative ideas and collaborating across multiple organizations to advance efficiency,” stated Susan E. Stratton, NEEA’s executive director.

The event will be held in downtown Portland, in conjunction with NEEA’s Annual Board Meeting.

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The Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) is an alliance of more than 140 utilities and energy efficiency organizations working on behalf of more than 13 million energy consumers. NEEA is dedicated to accelerating both electric and natural gas energy efficiency, leveraging its regional partnerships to advance the adoption of energy-efficient products, services and practices.

Since 1997, NEEA and its partners have saved enough energy to power more than 620,000 homes each year. As the second-largest resource in the Northwest, energy efficiency can offset most of our new demand for energy, saving money and keeping the Northwest a healthy and vibrant place to live. www.neea.org

Media Contact:
Veronica Marzilli, NEEA
vmarzilli@neea.org

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