Northeast Public Power Association Executive Director receives individual achievement award

Michael Hyland, Executive Director of the Northeast Public Power Association, received the James D. Donovan Individual Achievement Award during the American Public Power Association’s National Conference in Boston, Massachusetts. The award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the electric utility industry and to public power.

Mike’s decades of leadership at APPA and the Northeast Public Power Association drove advancements in safety measures, reliability standards and data analysis, the implementation of a national mutual aid program, and launched the Public Power Lineworkers Rodeo. He has elevated municipal utility priorities in national policy and emergency management, including advancing the unified mutual aid agreement that standardized response procedures and helping secure FEMA reimbursement protections. Notably, he modernized and expanded on APPA events and programs, spearheading improvements to the DEED Research & Development Program, and launching the Reliable Public Power (RP3) and Smart Energy Provider (SEP) Programs. Mike initiated the Light Up Navajo program to electrify the Navajo nation in Fort Defiance, Arizona, served as Chairman of the National Electrical Safety Code (NESC) for ten years, earned three patents in data analytics, and served on numerous North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) Committees. 

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The Northeast Public Power Association is a private, non-profit trade association that is incorporated as a 501 c(6). NEPPA was founded in 1965 to represent and serve consumer-owned utilities of New England. As a regional organization, it uses the combined strength of its diverse members to provide low-cost services and to advocate public policies and federal legislation, which are beneficial to its members’ interests. In the six New England states, over 78 public power systems serve roughly 2 million retail customers and sell over 13 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually.