The city of Lompoc Electric Division recently received a Safety Award of Excellence from American Public Power Association (APPA) for safe operating practices in 2024.

The utility earned the Diamond Award in the category for utilities with 30,000-59,999 hours physically worked by employees in the workplace.

“Lompoc Electric cares deeply about sending our employees home to their families safely every single day,” said Brad Wilkie, Utility director for the city of Lompoc. “We are proud to be honored for all the work that goes into standing behind this commitment.”

More than 200 utilities entered the annual Safety Awards for 2024. 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).

“The Electric Division is proud of our safety culture,” said Wilkie. “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 xommittee 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,” Beasley said.

APPA has conducted the Safety Awards annually for more than 66 years. APPA is the voice of not-for-profit, community-owned utilities that power 2,000 towns and cities nationwide, the city said.