Radical change is underway in the electric utilities industry, and no one knows that better than Jill Anderson. As senior vice president of public affairs and business development for the New York Power Authority (NYPA), she is the force behind many of NYPA’s most progressive clean-energy initiatives. “Historians may look back on the period between 2015 and 2020 as a critical inflection point for utilities. A moment when the most insightful among us started to chart a different direction—one more aggressively focusing on environmental stewardship, economic productivity, and sustainability,” Anderson says.
For her part, Anderson has successfully launched numerous NYPA statewide clean-energy programs including BuildSmart NY, aimed at reducing energy consumption by 20 percent in state-owned buildings by 2020, and another initiative to install 3,000 hybrid and electric vehicle charging stations in public locations like airport parking lots and commuter rail stations. But Anderson is most excited about the program known as K-Solar, which will help reduce New York State schools’ energy costs through the use of solar power.
Prior to NYPA, Anderson worked, starting in 2003, as an operations supervisor helping to restore Manhattan’s electrical infrastructure in the aftermath of 9/11. The experience, Anderson says, gave her the perseverance she needs to be effective in her current role: “The early lessons of my career about perseverance despite discouraging odds, performance under pressure, and the power of a support network of mentors, built a foundation I rely on constantly in my role today.”
