Austin, Texas (April 3, 2019) – Zpryme, a research-based firm with services focused on energy, announced today that Gil C. Quiniones, President and Chief Executive Officer of the New York Power Authority (NYPA), has been selected as the 2019 “ETS Thought Leader of the Year.” Quiniones was chosen for the recognition amongst a group of peers following voting by ETS alumni and participants. He will be honored during a ceremony at Zpryme’s 6th annual Energy Thought Summit (ETS19) on April 18, 2019 at 12:15 p.m. at the W Hotel in Austin, Texas.

The “ETS Thought Leader of the Year” award salutes an individual among the ETS community of thought leaders who possesses the type of inventive and brave vision needed to inspire the global energy ecosystem. Previous award winners include University of Minnesota Professor and IEEE Chairman, Dr. Massoud Amin (2015); former CPS Energy President & CEO, Doyle Beneby (2016); ComEd President & CEO, Anne Pramaggiore (2017); and CPS Energy’s President & CEO, Paula Gold-Williams (2018).

Quiniones, along with other industry nominees, was first identified by the ETS19 Advisory Committee and Zpryme staff in January before the voters made the ultimate decision.

Quiniones, upon learning of his selection for this award, said, “I am honored to be named ‘ETS Thought Leader of the Year’ and to join the ranks of my respected colleagues that have received this recognition before me. At NYPA, we have an innovative and inspired team that is designed to lead when it comes to new ideas for grid efficiency, electrification of the automobile industry, energy storage and expanding a clean energy economy in New York State. I have the privilege of working closely with the energy team of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and guiding the talented NYPA team to disrupt the status quo and lead by example in energy and electricity innovation. I thank ETS for this award which I will share with my NYPA staff who inspire me every day.”

Quiniones joined NYPA, the largest state-owned electric utility in the U.S., in 2008 after holding various positions at Con Edison and the New York City Economic Development Corporation under then mayor Michael Bloomberg. He served as NYPA’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Executive Vice President of Energy Marketing and Corporate Affairs prior to becoming CEO.

Today, he is responsible for developing and implementing the statewide utility’s strategic vision and mission for supervising its operations, legal and financial matters and relationships with key stakeholders. Under Quiniones’ leadership, NYPA saves customers more than $1 billion a year, helping to create or protect more than 450,000 jobs and spur nearly $40 billion in capital investment at New York State businesses and other entities through allocations of low-cost electricity.

NYPA is playing a key role in Governor Cuomo’s landmark Green New Deal, the nation’s leading clean energy and jobs agenda, which is aggressively putting New York State on a path to economy-wide carbon neutrality. This initiative is providing for a just transition to clean energy, spurring the growth of the green economy and mandating New York’s power be 100 percent clean and carbon-free by 2040, one of the most aggressive goals in the U.S. The cornerstone of this newly proposed mandate is a significant increase of New York’s successful Clean Energy Standard to 70 percent renewable electricity by 2030.

As part of this landmark effort to combat climate change, Quiniones is leading the charge to create the first end to end digital utility in the country: a comprehensive digital infrastructure addressing New York State’s ever-evolving energy, environmental and economic needs. This bold initiative is groundbreaking in concept and scope, and provides a template for replication throughout the nation.

Through full digitization, NYPA will monitor power generation, transmission and use with unprecedented granularity, sophistication and precision. Quiniones’ approach was initiated with deep consideration for cyber, physical security and network communications. This initiative reaches across every NYPA process and department to facilitate broad collaboration and leverage information for optimal performance.

As result, the Power Authority will become the first utility in the United States to create digital twins of its entire generation portfolio, substations and transmission system, using data analytics and data visualization tools to optimize our operations, capital and O&M investments. NYPA is building a Digital Foundry that creates an ecosystem where third party technology companies (software and hardware), utilities, research institutions and universities can conduct applied R&D and develop new “Apps,” services and drive innovation at the grid’s edge.

“Gil and NYPA’s push for innovation in digitalization and renewable energy has transformed the energy industry in New York while also creating a roadmap for other utilities around the country,” added Jason Rodriguez, Zpryme’s Co-Founder and CEO. “The ETS community is proud to award Gil for his contributions which have helped transform this industry in the industry as well as made New York an energy efficient state.”

ETS19 will take place April 15-18 at Austin’s ACL Moody Theatre. For more information, to purchase badges or see a list of participating thought leaders, please visit ets19.co.

About ETS19

For the lucky, we flip the switch, and the light comes on every time. For others, it’s a gamble for a flicker. Today’s global electricity system is a complex web of wires, infrastructure and an ever-growing list of new tech, but how is our industry respecting it? Loving your energy is not only about appreciating its loyalty, but more importantly all the moving parts that make it happen.

Join us on April 15-18, 2019 in Austin, Texas to celebrate six years of ETS as we honor the heroes that help provide safe and reliable electricity, as well as debate the realistic state and future of energy. Visit ets19.co.

About Zpryme

Based in Austin, Texas, Zpryme is a research-based firm with agency-geared services focused on energy. Based on the creative direction of our associates, Zpryme produces influential research and events that challenge the status quo and marketing solutions for fully-immersive brand experiences. For more information, visit zpryme.com.