City of Newberry Receives FMEA Safety Award

The City of Newberry was recently recognized by the Florida Municipal Electric Association (FMEA) with a Safety Award for our commitment to worker safety.

Electric linework is one of the country’s top 10 most dangerous professions. Lineworkers risk electrocution, falls, burns and other injuries in every type of weather as part of their daily efforts to provide reliable and affordable power. For this reason, public power communities across the state emphasize the importance of safety training and safety precautions.

For the past 30 years, FMEA has recognized Florida public power utilities’ efforts to ensure crew safety is the highest priority. Utilities are placed into categories based on total man-hours worked and rewarded for the most incident-free records. The incidence ratio used to judge utilities is based on the number of work-related reportable injuries or illnesses compared to the total number of worker-hours during 2020, as defined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

The City of Newberry received a perfect record, meaning no lost time work-place accidents, in Category A.

“Linework is an incredibly rewarding profession, but it is also a very risky one that could result in serious injuries and fatalities. That is why utilities must make safety their top priority. In this industry, nothing is more important than the lives and wellbeing of our lineworkers,” said Amy Zubaly, FMEA Executive Director. “Congratulations to the City of Newberry for its commitment to worker safety and being among the 21 public power communities recognized this year.”

Florida’s public power utilities are locally owned, locally controlled, and locally operated, enabling them to quickly respond to the needs of their communities. They are also among some of the most affordable and reliable power providers in the state.

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About FMEA: The Florida Municipal Electric Association (FMEA) represents the unified interests of 33 public power communities across the state, which provide electricity to more than 3 million of Florida’s residential and business consumers.