Spencer Municipal Utilities has earned the American Public Power Association’s Safety Award of Excellence for safe operating practices in 2020. The utility earned First Place in Group C in the category for utilities with 30,000-59,999 electric worker-hours of annual worker exposure.

“Utilities that receive an APPA Safety Award have demonstrated that they have made the health and safety of their employees a core value,” said Brandon Wylie, Chair of APPA’s Safety Committee and Director of Training & Safety at Electric Cities of Georgia. “Designing and maintaining a top-notch utility safety program takes a lot of hard work and commitment. These utilities and their communities should be very proud.”

329 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 most incident-free records during 2020. 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 2020, as defined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

“Spencer Municipal Utilities values employee safety above all else,” said Ryan Blau, health & safety risk coordinator of Spencer Municipal Utilities. “We all recognize the importance of going home to our families each day; this is what drives our dedication to safety.”

The Safety Awards have been held annually for the last 65 years. APPA is the voice of not-for-profit, community-owned utilities that power 2,000 towns and cities nationwide.

Spencer Municipal Utilities is a leading provider of cable, internet, and telephone service in the Spencer community and has been providing water since 1886 and electric services since 1901.

 

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Caption: SMU’s Safety Committee is led by Ryan Blau and has individuals that represent all SMU departments. Members are pictured here with the 2020 Electric Utility Safety Award of Excellence.