Safety First
Once again, Ripley Power and Light Company has earned the American Public Power Association’s (APPA) Safety Award of Excellence for safe operating practices.
The utility earned a first-place diamond award in the category for utilities with 56,160 worker-hours of annual worker exposure in 2025.
“Along with regularly scheduled safety meetings, Ripley Power and Light reinforces safety every day,” said Chris Sanders, Operations Superintendent.
A typical workday starts with a tailgate talk that outlines that day’s line work and the safety it requires, he said.
More than 240 utilities entered APPA’s annual Safety Awards for 2025. The entrants are placed in order of their number of worker-hours and then ranked on the most incident-free records and overall state of their safety programs and culture.
The incidence rate is based on the number of work-related reportable injuries or illnesses and the number of worker-hours during 2025, as defined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
“Ripley Power and Light Company is proud of our safety culture,” said Mike Allmand, the utility’s President and CEO. “This award is a testament to the hard work that has gone into building this culture and ensuring that our employees have a safe work environment.”
APPA represents not-for-profit, community-owned utilities that power 2,000 towns and cities nationwide.