NYPA Recognized with Technology Innovation Award for IT Operations During the Covid-19 Pandemic

For Immediate Release: 12/15/20

Contact: Lynne Smith | (914) 346-4656 | Lynne.Smith@nypa.gov

The New York Power Authority (NYPA) was recognized for its resourceful use of technology in creating a successful work-from-home operation during the Covid-19 pandemic with a 2020 Technology Innovation Award from e.Republic, the nation’s only media and research company focused exclusively on state and local government.

 

The award was announced at today’s virtual 2020 Year in Review and Recognition Summit. This year’s Special Districts Awards Program received hundreds of submissions nationwide and recognized 45 districts that applied innovative technologies and leadership to their response and recovery efforts as they relate to COVID-19.

 

“COVID-19 posed unprecedented challenges and our information technology team really stepped up to help us adapt to a very unique and trying period,” said Robert Piascik, NYPA’s senior vice president and CIO. “We were able to seamlessly transform our workforce into an efficient remote operation and continue our critical mission of providing affordable, clean and reliable power across the state.”

 

All 120 members of NYPA's IT Department, including the Infrastructure Group, Desktop Support, Enterprise Architecture & Engineering, Resiliency, Cyber Security, Applications & Operations, turned the entire Authority of more than 1,800 employees into a productive work-from-home force in just five days. Plant operations staff were successfully sequestered and NYPA continued to provide critically needed power to established medical centers, field hospitals, makeshift tent health facilities, and the converted Jacob K. Javits Center in Manhattan.

 

NYPA's IT staff provided the necessary infrastructure, communications, newly created software applications, and secured virtual and physical environments needed by employees working remotely. Among the many examples of excellence: applications that provided a fast and efficient way for employees to check-in daily and report on health issues; platforms such as weekly broadcast messages and web conferencing that allowed senior leadership to regularly communicate with staff; and the launch of Microsoft TEAMS, a project that was just an experiment for a small group prior to Covid-19 and rapidly developed into a full fledge deployment in a few weeks.

 

About NYPA

The New York Power Authority (NYPA) is the largest state public power organization in the nation, operating 16 generating facilities and more than 1,400 circuit-miles of transmission lines. More than 80 percent of the electricity NYPA produces is clean renewable hydropower. NYPA uses no state tax money or state credit. It finances its operations through the sale of bonds and revenues earned in large part through sales of electricity. For more information visit www.nypa.gov and follow us on Twitter @NYPAenergy, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, and LinkedIn.