Special to Iredell Free News
The City of Statesville Electric Utilities has received the prestigious Public Power Awards of Excellence in all five key areas of service, recognizing Statesville as one of the top performers of public power in the state for 2021.
ElectriCities of North Carolina, Inc., announced that Statesville received awards in the following areas:
♦ Value of Public Power;
♦ Wholesale Power Cost;
♦ Workforce Planning and Development;
♦ Grid Modernization; and
♦ Continuous Improvement
“The commitment and dedication North Carolina’s public power providers demonstrate to their communities is always impressive,” said ElectriCities CEO Roy Jones. “I’m proud of these award winners for continuing to find ways to deliver better service and more value to the communities they serve while meeting the challenges of the past few years head-on.”
Although COVID-19 created many challenges for Statesville Electric Utilities Department, “we were still able to provide exceptional service, as acknowledged through the presentation of these awards,” explained Statesville Electric Utilities Director John Maclaga. “We have completed the LED lighting project and made great progress in implementing the AMI project, while also assisting other public power communities with power restoration following severe weather events.
“We continue to work hard to provide the best combination of reliability, relationships and rates for our customers, all while running the electric system as safely as possible,” he added.
Awards
The Value of Public Power Award highlights communities that communicate the value of electric system ownership to key stakeholders. Statesville’s assistance with storm restoration and cleanup for Danville Utilities in Danville, Va., and Lafayette Utilities and the City of Houma in Louisiana were key in Statesville receiving this honor.
The Wholesale Power Cost Award recognizes communities that provide competitive and stable wholesale electric rates that meet the power supply need of Power Agency Members. Completion of the LED street installation and security light replacement projects were a factor for Statesville in receiving this award.
The Workforce Planning and Development Award honors communities that promote a workforce plan to attract, develop and retain the necessary human talent to provide safe, reliable power and lead public power forward. Statesville continues to work with ElectriCities on providing Career development opportunities for its employees.
The Continuous Improvement Award recognizes cities and towns that constantly review and enhance all aspects of public power while focusing on cost reduction and increased efficiencies in current and future operations. Statesville’s quick response to COVID by implementing safety protocols that allowed the department to continue daily operations was a factor in receiving this award.
The Grid Modernization Award focuses on promoting investment in public power communities’ electric distribution systems and in technology to ensure safety and reliability and to exceed customer expectations. Statesville has worked hard to complete construction of a new delivery station and add capacitor banks to the City’s system to improve its power factor. The nearly complete installation of AMI meters for residential customers and continuous installation of commercial and industrial meters have also been a major accomplishment.
“We work day and night for our customers,” said Maclaga, “and are pleased to be recognized with such significant awards and enjoy knowing the work we do benefits the daily lives of our customers. We still have much to do and hope to bring more good news next year.”
About ElectriCities of North Carolina Inc.
ElectriCities is a membership organization including public power communities in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. ElectriCities also provides management services to North Carolina’s two municipal power agencies: North Carolina Municipal Power Agency Number 1 and North Carolina Eastern Municipal Power Agency. Learn more at www.electricities.com.