Jeff Erdely was honored as the recipient of the 26th Outstanding Alumnus Award of Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus. The award was presented by Penn State Fayette Chancellor Francis K. Achampong at a special meeting and ceremony of the campus' advisory board Thursday evening, Oct. 21, at the Pleasant Valley Country Club.
The Outstanding Alumnus of Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus Award was established in 1985 and honors former students of the campus whose subsequent professional achievement warrants special recognition by their alma mater. The recipients of the award possess the qualities that truly epitomize the phrase, “Penn State proud.”
Erdely graduated from Penn State University in 1991 with a bachelor of science in electrical engineering with an emphasis on power flows. Erdely is the principal and managing director of SESCO Enterprises L.L.C., serving in both positions since the SESCO’s inception in 2003. SESCO Enterprises is an electricity and natural gas trading company employing 23 people with offices in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. It was founded in 2003 by a group of financial management, energy operations, and technology professionals. The founders and associates have more than 100 years of combined experience in trading and risk management covering the full range of energy markets, including power, natural gas, oil, refined products, coal and emissions.
Francis Achampong, chancellor of Penn State Fayette, said, “We are proud to honor Jeff Erdely with the Outstanding Alumnus Award this year. Energy is a growing resource in Fayette County and the surrounding region that we serve. Jeff’s enthusiasm for his time at Penn State Fayette and the education he received at Penn State, as well as his hard work and determination, are inspiring. His accomplishments serve as an example to Penn State Fayette students of how rewarding a Penn State education and a career in the energy sector can be.”
In 1991, Erdely began his career with Allegheny Power as a planning engineer where he worked at several field divisions. His responsibilities included planning and budgeting for area power growth, including upgrading or implementing new installations of substations and transmission lines. Prior to the birth of SESCO, he traded electricity around Allegheny Power’s generation fleet from Sept. 1997 to Jan. 2003.
Erdely and his wife, Jennifer, a 1994 Penn State graduate, are the parents of Jimmy, 12; Danny, 10; Tommy, 8; Billy, 5; and Mikey, 3.