The Greer Commission of Public Works told commissioners and attendees at today’s meeting it has earned two national awards.
Greer CPW earned the American Public Power Association’s Electric Utility Safety Award for safe operating practices in 2011. More than 275 utilities entered the contest and were divided into categories according to their number of worker hours.
The Greer utility also earned the Reliable Public Power Provider (RP3) recognition from the American Public Power Association for providing consumers with the highest degree of reliable and safe electric service. Greer is one of 176 of the nation’s more than 2,000 public power utilities to earn the designation.
CPW earned first place in Group C in the category for utilities with 38,699 worker-hours of annual worker exposure.
“A lot of work goes into building a strong safety record,” said Nick Stegall, General Manager of Greer Commission of Public Works. “Greer CPW looks forward to continuing to improve its safety practices as it provides reliable service to the community.”
“Safety should always be priority number one for electric utilities,” said Daniel Shaw, chair of the APPA Safety Committee. “Sending each and every one of our employees home safe to their families every night is what it’s all about.”
“RP3 utilities are serving their customers at the very highest level,” said Brent McKinney. “These utilities have demonstrated that they are providing excellent service now as well as keeping their eyes forward on improvements for the future.” McKinney is manager, electric transmission and distribution at City Utilities of Springfield, Mo., and chair of APPA’s RP3 Review Panel.
The RP3 designation recognizes public power utilities that demonstrate proficiency in four key disciplines: reliability, safety, workforce development and system improvement. Criteria within each category are based on sound business practices and represent a utility-wide commitment to safe and reliable delivery of electricity.
“Receiving the RP3 designation means a lot to us,” said Stegall. “It’s an honor to be recognized on a national level for the work we are doing here locally in Greer.”