The Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative (SECC), a nonprofit organization that studies consumer behaviors, interests and concerns in the energy transition, today announced the recipients of the 2026 Best Practices Awards at the 2026 Symposia on DERs and Customer Engagement, a DTECH partner event co-produced with PLMA.

SECC’s Best Practices Awards – now in their ninth year – recognize leadership from electricity providers in the United States and Canada in the transition to a smarter, more consumer-focused energy ecosystem. The awards highlight programs that have proven to deliver considerable benefits to residential or small- and medium-sized business (SMB) utility customers.

Selected by an independent advisory panel of industry veterans, the 2026 winners are:

• Evergy has been honored with the Smart Energy Innovation Award for moving beyond traditional demand response and meeting grid challenges with the Grid Resiliency program.
• PSEG Long Island has been recognized with the Consumer Engagement Award for successfully transitioning nearly a million residential customers to the Time-of-Day rate.
• SaskPower has been honored with the Energy Equity Award for helping First Nations communities address energy affordability challenges and improve home comfort with the Northern First Nations Home Retrofit Program.
• Austin Energy has been honored with the Consumer Education Award for overhauling the Solar 101 education course to be more user-friendly and to combat solar misinformation. 
• NB Power has been recognized with the SMB Engagement Award for helping businesses navigate economic uncertainty and save money on their energy expenses through a hands-on walkthrough and rebate program.

“Affordability and reliability are top of mind for all electricity providers in 2026,” said SECC’s President & CEO Nathan Shannon. “This year’s winners showcase the innovative ways that electricity providers are helping consumers and small businesses save money and meet their energy goals, while also balancing the needs of an evolving electric grid.”

Past winners of SECC’s Best Practices Awards include a wide variety of providers in the United States and Canada, including Xcel Energy, SMUD, CPS Energy, Con Edison, Consumers Energy, London Hydro and Puget Sound Energy. For the first time, four recipients – Austin Energy, Evergy, NB Power and PSEG Long Island – are repeat winners of the Best Practices Awards.

Further details on the five winning programs can be found in the 2026 Best Practices Guide. The winners will also be featured throughout the year in webinars, case studies and other content at smartenergycc.org. Nominations for the 10th annual awards will open in the summer of 2026.