Newberry Receives Florida Municipal Electric Association Safety Award

The City of Newberry was among 17 Florida public power utilities to receive a Florida Municipal Electric Association (FMEA) Safety Award, which recognizes utilities’ commitment to safety. The award was presented at the Florida Lineman Competition awards banquet in Ocala.

Linework is listed as one of the top 10 most dangerous jobs. In order to provide reliable power, Florida lineworkers and power crews are frequently engaged in dangerous work that can place them at risk of serious or fatal injuries, which is why public power utilities place a significant emphasis on safety and training.

FMEA recognizes and rewards safe operations through its annual Safety Awards. Utilities are placed into categories based on their total worker hours and rewarded for the most incident-free records. The incidence rate used to judge utilities was based on the number of work-related reportable injuries or illnesses compared to the total number of worker hours during 2024, as defined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

Newberry received a perfect record in the category with other similar-sized utilities, showing 0 lost hours due to work place accidents.

“Each of these winners, including Newberry, embodies the safety culture deeply inherent in public power. Their continuous efforts throughout the year to maintain safe workplaces and cultivate a culture of safety ensure employees can work both securely and efficiently,” said Amy Zubaly, FMEA Executive Director. “We applaud these utilities for their commitment to safety.”

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 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 4 million of Florida’s residential and business consumers.