OMPA was recently awarded by the American Public Power Association’s (APPA) Electric Utility Safety Awards of Excellence for safe operating practices for 2011 at the Ponca City Municipal Power Plant Complex.
OMPA was one of 98 public power systems to earn the APPA award from the Washington, DC based service organization for the nation’s more than 2,000 community-owned electric utilities. Collectively, these utilities serve more than 46 million Americans.
More than 275 utilities entered the annual contest. OMPA received first place for Group E for systems with 110,000 to 249,999 worker-hours of exposure. Entrants were placed in categories according to their number of worker hours and judged for the most incident-free records during 2011. The incidence rate, used to judge contest entries, is based on the number of work-related reportable injuries or illnesses and the number of worker-hours during 2011, as defined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The Ponca City Municipal Power Plant consisting of a steam generation plant and combustion turbines is operated by OMPA. In addition, the Kaw Hydroelectric Plant, which is owned by OMPA and its members, is located on Kaw Lake, east of Ponca City.
OMPA is a state governmental agency created by the legislature to serve cities and towns that own and operate their electrical distribution systems and is governed by the members. The Authority presently serves 39 municipally-owned electric systems in Oklahoma.
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