WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Jackson Energy Authority Electric Division has earned the American Public Power Association’s Safety Award of Excellence for safe operating practices in 2024. JEA earned the top-level Diamond Award in the category for utilities with 110,000 to 249,000 worker-hours. JEA crews worked 238,058 hours in 2024.

Lara Coleman, JEA Sr. Vice-President Electricity, noted, “Safety and reliability are the primary concerns in serving our customers. Receiving this top APPA Diamond Award is a testament to our concern for personnel and customers and the outstanding work of our total electric system and crews.”

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 of illnesses and the number of worker hours during 2024 as defined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

“The Jackson Energy Authority is proud of our safety culture,” stated Monte Cooper, JEA President/CEO. “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, event 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 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.