Five IMUA member electric utilities were among 166 nationwide to earn the American Public Power Association’s Safety Award of Excellence for safe operating practices in 2022. The American Public Power Association (APPA) announced the awards in May 2023.
Carlyle earned a first-place award in its category. Rock Falls earned a second-place citation. Breese earned third place in its category, while Waterloo and Freeburg earned honorable mentions.
APPA said that 283 utilities from across the country entered the annual Safety Awards. Entrants were placed in categories according to their number of worker-hours and ranked based on the incident-free records and overall state of their safety programs and culture during 2022.
A utility’s incidence rate is based on its number of work-related reportable injuries or illnesses and the number of worker-hours during 2022, as defined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
“Safety needs to be the first thing on every utility employee’s mind as they go about their work, said Jim Boyd, Chair of APPA’s Safety Committee and Electric Operations Safety Manager at Tacoma Power in Washington. “The utilities honored by APPA for excellence in this area should be proud of the culture they have instilled in serving their communities.”