Benton Utilities Electric Department has earned the American Public Power Association’s Safety Award of Excellence for safe operating practices in 2024. The utility earned the Diamond Award for Safety in the category for utilities with over 40,000 worker-hours of annual worker exposure.
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“Benton Utilities is proud of to be recognized with such an elite group of electrical service providers for our safety practices,” said Todd Pedersen, Benton Utilities General Manager. “Our team works hard minute by minute observing safety procedures to ensure every employee goes home safely to their loved ones at the end of the day.”
More than 200 utilities entered the annual Safety Awards for 2024. The entrants are placed in accordance with their number of worker-hours and ranked based on the most incident-free records and overall state of their safety programs and culture during 2024. The incidence rate is based on the number of work-related reportable injuries or illnesses and the number of worker-hours during 2024, as defined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
“Benton Utilities Electric Dept. is proud of our safety program and procedures” said Darren Prysock, Benton Utilities Electric Dept. Manager. “This award is a testament to the safety culture we have built and the hard work that goes into ensuring that our team members have a safe work environment.”
“Harnessing electricity to keep our communities powered is vital work that can be dangerous, even deadly, if the proper attention isn’t paid to tried-and-true safety practices,” said Jon Beasley, Chair of APPA’s Safety Committee and Vice-President of Electric Cities of GA. “This award honors utilities that hold fast to these practices and – in doing so – put the safety of their personnel and their customers above all else.”
APPA has conducted the Safety Awards annually for more than sixty-six years. APPA is the voice of not-for-profit, community-owned utilities that power 2,000 towns and cities nationwide.
