The City of Bowling Green Municipal Utilities has earned the American Public Power Association’s Safety Award of Excellence for safe operating practices in 2021. The utility earned first place award in the category for utilities with 30,000 to 59,999 worker-hours of annual worker exposure.

“In our industry, safety is the top priority,” said Bob Scudder, chair of APPA’s Safety Committee and Industrial Hygiene and Corporate Risk Manager at Grand River Dam Authority. “This is a commitment that needs to come from the top down and permeate every aspect of operations. These awarded utilities have embraced this priority, and they deserve to be celebrated.”

There were 318 utilities from across the country that 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 2021. 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 2021, as defined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

“This recognition is very important because it shows that our highly skilled staff have been able to complete their work safely and go home to their families at the end of each work day. Our employees are our most valued asset and their safety is a priority for our operations,” said Brian O’Connell, Bowling Green Utilities director.

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