March 25, 2013
News Release 13-09
RICHLAND, Wash. – Energy Northwest earned the American Public Power Association’s Safety Award of Excellence for safe operating practices in 2012. The agency earned first place in the category for utilities with 1,000,000 to 3,999,999 worker-hours. Bob Rumbaugh, chair of the APPA Safety Committee and energy services consultant, American Municipal Power, Inc., in Columbus, Ohio, presented the award today, during the association’s annual Engineering & Operations Technical Conference, held in Kissimmee, Fla.
“Keeping utility staff and customers safe should be every utility’s top priority,” said Rumbaugh. “The utilities honored today have demonstrated serious commitment to this essential aspect of electric service.”
More than 280 utilities entered the annual contest, which is the highest number of entrants in the contest’s history. Entrants were placed in categories according to their number of worker hours and judged for the most incident-free records during 2012. The incidence rate, used to judge contest entries, is based on the number of work-related reportable injuries or illnesses and the number of worker-hours during 2012, as defined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
“A record such as this is indicative of the high standards of excellence at Energy Northwest that are vital to safe and reliable operations,” said Charles England, Organizational Effectiveness manager at Energy Northwest. “At Energy Northwest we are proud of our safety record and have a strong workforce of employees who strive to ensure safe operations in every facet of their work every day.”
The APPA Safety Awards have been held annually for the last 53 years. APPA is the national organization representing more than 2,000 not-for-profit, community- and state- owned electric utilities.
About Energy Northwest
Energy Northwest develops, owns and operates a diverse mix of electricity generating resources, including hydro, solar and wind projects – and the Northwest’s only nuclear energy facility. These projects provide enough reliable, affordable and environmentally respon¬sible energy to power more than a million homes each year, and that carbon-free electricity is provided at the cost of generation. As a Washington state, not-for-profit joint operating agency, Energy Northwest comprises 27 public power member utilities from across the state serving more than 1.5 million ratepayers. The agency continually explores new generation projects to meet its members’ needs. Energy Northwest –
www.energy-northwest.com.
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