Pierre Electric Department Receives National Award
The City of Pierre Electric Department has earned the American Public Power Association’s Safety Award of Excellence for safe operating practices in 2016.
Pierre received a First Place nod for achieving zero safety incidents during its nearly 20,700 hours of worker exposure last year. Rick Aguilar, Chair of the APPA Safety Committee and Director of Job Training and Safety at Kansas Municipal Utilities, presented the award, during the Association’s annual Engineering & Operations Technical Conference, held in San Antonio, Texas.
“When it comes to electric utility operations, safety is a top priority for everyone involved; from lineman to operator,” said Aguilar. “Pierre’s Electric Department has embraced a culture of safety while serving their local communities and deserves to be recognized.”
More than 250 utilities entered the annual Safety Awards, which is among the highest number of entrants in the history of the program. Entrants were placed in categories according to their number of worker hours and ranked based on the most incident-free records during 2016. The incidence rate, used to judge entries, is based on the number of work-related reportable injuries or illnesses and the number of worker-hours during 2016, as defined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
“When you are in the electrical business, sending the team home safe to their families is a top priority,” said Brad Palmer, City of Pierre Utility Director. “I am so proud of Pierre’s Electrical Department for its strong record of employee safety.”
The American Public Power Association is the voice of not-for-profit, community-owned utilities that power 2,000 towns and cities nationwide.
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