City Utilities Receives A Diamond Award

City Utilities of Richland Center has earned the American Public Power Association’s Safety Award of Excellence for safe operating practices in 2024. The utility earned the diamond award in the category for utilities with 15,000 worker-hours of annual worker exposure.

More than 200 utilities entered the annual Safety Awards for 2024. The entrants are placed in accordance with their number of worker-hours and ranked based on the most incident-free records and overall state of their safety programs and culture during 2024. The incidence rate is based on the number of work-related reportable injuries or illnesses and the number of worker-hours during 2024, as defined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

Utility Manager of City Utilities, Scott Gald, said, “This award is a testament to the safety culture we have built and the hard work that goes into ensuring that our team members have a safe work environment.”

Jon Beasley, Chair of APPA’s Safety Committee and Vice-President of Electric Cities of GA, said, “Harnessing electricity to keep our communities powered is vital work that can be dangerous, even deadly, if the proper attention isn’t paid to tried-and-true safety practices. This award honors utilities that hold fast to these practices and – in doing so – put the safety of their personnel and their customers above all else.”

APPA has conducted the Safety Awards annually for more than sixty-six years. APPA is the voice of not-for-profit, community-owned utilities that power 2,000 towns and cities nationwide.