PJM President, CEO Terry Boston Receives IEEE Leadership in Power Award

Boston Recognized for Lifelong Activities to Promote the Electric Power Engineering Profession

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Jul 27, 2011, 02:24 ET

VALLEY FORGE, Pa., July 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- PJM Interconnection President and CEO Terry Boston is the recipient of the IEEE Power and Energy Society's (PES) Leadership in Power Award.

IEEE has its roots in the late 1800s with the emergence of electricity and the establishment of its founding organization, the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. Billed as the world's largest professional association for the advancement of technology, IEEE has more than 400,000 members in 160 countries.

"This award recognizes Boston's exceptional contributions to the promotion of the electric power engineering profession," noted Alan Rotz, IEEE PES president, in a letter. "The award highlights actions which encouraged the development and growth of electric power engineering practitioners and recognized the contributions electric power engineers make to society."

IEEE noted that Boston has "a lifelong commitment in support of advanced engineering degrees and professional licenses. He sponsored a center for excellence for power engineering at Tennessee Tech and later, a center for energy systems research. He led the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to fund an endowed Power Professor at three state universities. He served on the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga Engineering College Advisory Board for over a decade and worked with vendors to equip the TVA Power Laboratory at the college to train engineers on state-of-the art equipment."

"He also serves on the IEEE Power and Energy Engineering Workforce collaborative Executive Council. In leadership positions at TVA and PJM, Mr. Boston has encouraged hundreds of electrical engineers to get advanced degrees and PE licenses with company sponsorship. Through Mr. Boston's leadership and dedication, he has contributed to power engineering research and development, university education, and power engineering programs."

For the past three years, Boston has been president and CEO of PJM, which is the largest power grid in North America and operates the largest electricity market in the world. Prior to joining PJM, he was the executive vice president of TVA's power system operations. He also serves as the U.S. vice president of the International Council of Large Electric Systems and sits on the boards of the Association of Edison Illuminating Companies, the Grid Protection Alliance and the North American Transmission Forum.

The IEEE Power & Energy Society sponsors twenty-five society-level awards. All award recipients are selected through a vetted nomination process. Boston's award was presented on Tuesday, July 26, at the IEEE PES General Meeting in Detroit, Mich.

PJM Interconnection, founded in 1927, ensures the reliability of the high-voltage electric power system serving 58 million people in all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. PJM coordinates and directs the operation of the region's transmission grid, which includes 61,000 miles of transmission lines; administers a competitive wholesale electricity market; and plans regional transmission expansion improvements to maintain grid reliability and relieve congestion. Visit PJM at www.pjm.com.