Plugged in, 05/2017

              May 2017
OMPA Receives Safety Award from APPA
The Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority has earned the American Public Power
Association’s (APPA) Safety Award of Excellence for safe operating practices in 2016.
Rick Aguilar, Chair of the APPA Safety Committee and Director of Job Training and Safety at
Kansas Municipal Utilities, presented the awards on May 8, during the Association’s annual
Engineering & Operations Technical Conference, held in San Antonio, Texas.
“When it comes to electric utility operations, safety is a top priority for everyone
involved; from lineman to operator,” said Aguilar.
“These utilities have embraced a culture of safety
while serving their local communities and deserve to be recognized.”
A total of 270 utilities entered the annual Safety Awards, which is among the highest number
of entrants in the history of the program. Entrants were placed in categories according to their
number of worker hours and ranked based on the most incident-free records during 2016.
The incidence rate, used to judge entries, is based on the number of work-related reportable
injuries or illnesses and the number of worker-hours during 2016, as defined by
the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
The Safety Awards have been held annually for the last 58 years. The American
Public Power Association is the voice of not-for-profit, community-owned utilities
that power 2,000 towns and cities nationwide.
OMPA member city officials and staff meet with Senator Pugh and
Representative Osburn
On Friday, April 28, staff from the City of Edmond, along with staff from
the Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority (OMPA), met with Senator
Adam Pugh (District 41) and Representative Mike Osburn (District 81)
over lunch at the OMPA headquarters in Edmond. The purpose of this
meeting was to continue to educate the legislators on the history of OMPA
and the unique role we play with our member cities.
The legislators, city staff and OMPA had in depth discussions regarding
issues facing OMPA and our member cities, as well as our outlook on
the future. Senator Pugh and Representative Osburn also got to tour and
learn more information about OMPA’s 24/7 Operations Department and
how power supply units are dispatched.
Those in attendance were: Senator Adam Pugh, District 41; Representative Mike Osburn, District 81; Larry Stevens,
Edmond City Manager; Glenn Fisher, Director of Edmond Electric; David Osburn, OMPA General Manager; Randy
Elliott, OMPA General Counsel; Drake Rice, Director of Member Services and Jennifer Rogers, OMPA Government
Relations Rep.
OMPA’s linecrew, from left, is Christian Zoppina,
Anthony Hale and Micah Mirino.
OMPA’s safety committee in Ponca City is, from left,
James Hendrix, Kacey Hogan and Levi Kiser.
Pictured from left to right: Randy Elliott, OMPA; Glenn
Fisher, Edmond Electric; Jennifer Rogers, OMPA; Rep.
Osburn, D-81; Sen. Pugh, D-41 and David Osburn, OMPA