Mesa Electric has received the American Public Power Associations Safety Award of Excellence for safe operating practices in 2023. Mesas electrical staff currently has over 2,000 days without a lost time accident. This achievement has earned the City-owned utility Gold Status in the category for utilities with 60,000-109,999 worker-hours of annual worker exposure.
Our employees have demonstrated their commitment to safety and reliability with over five years without a lost time accident, said Scott Bouchie, Energy Resources Department Director. We are extremely proud of them and this achievement. More importantly, we are happy to know our staff goes home safely to their families after every shift.
More than 160 utilities entered the annual Safety Awards for 2023. Entrants were placed in categories according to their number of worker-hours and ranked based on the most incident-free records and overall state of their safety programs and culture during 2023. The incidence rate is based on the number of work-related reportable injuries or illnesses and the number of worker-hours during 2023, as defined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
In our industry, safety has to be top of mind all day every day, said Scott McKenzie, Chair of APPA's Engineering and Operations Coference safety track and Senior Director of Member Training & Safety at AMP Inc. These honored utilities have demonstrated a commitment to safety that runs through every aspect of their organizations.
The Safety Awards have been held annually for more than 65 years. The American Public Power Association is the voice of not-for-profit, community-owned utilities that power 2,000 towns and cities nationwide.