Congratulations to the 25 ElectriCities of North Carolina member utilities that received national recognition for achieving exceptional electric reliability in 2023:
- City of Albemarle, N.C.
- City of Gastonia, N.C.
- City of Laurinburg, N.C.
- City of Lumberton, N.C.
- City of Monroe, N.C.
- City of Newberry, S.C.
- City of Newton, N.C.
- City of Rocky Mount, N.C.
- Greenwood Commissioners of Public Works (S.C.)
- Martinsville Electric Department (Va.)
- New River Light & Power (N.C.)
- North Carolina State University (N.C.)
- Seneca Light & Water (S.C.)
- Town of Apex, N.C.
- Town of Clayton, N.C.
- Town of Cornelius, N.C.
- Town of Front Royal, Va.
- Town of Huntersville, N.C.
- Town of Landis, N.C.
- Town of Louisburg, N.C.
- Town of Maiden, N.C.
- Town of Pineville, N.C.
- Town of Tarboro, N.C.
- Town of Wake Forest, N.C.
- Wilson Energy (N.C.)
Each earned a Certificate of Excellence in Reliability from the American Public Power Association (APPA).
“Our member utilities’ devotion to their local communities is best expressed through their relentless efforts to keep the lights on through any storm, challenge, or natural disaster,” said Sherri Callery, Manager of Grid Innovation at ElectriCities. “We congratulate these utilities and commend them for their unwavering commitment to maintaining safe and reliable electric service.”
Honorees have been tracking their power outage and restoration data through APPA’s eReliability Tracker. Using the web-based subscription service—an ElectriCities member benefit—utilities can collect, categorize, and summarize outage and restoration data and run reports throughout the year.
Once a year, APPA’s Reliability Team compares this data to national statistics that the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) tracks for all types of electric utilities. APPA awards Certificates of Excellence in Reliability to those utilities that have a System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI) in the top 25% of utilities nationally.
“This year, we had an impressive increase in the number of ElectriCities members achieving this recognition—56% more than last year,” Sherri said. “That illuminates the effectiveness of our members’ leadership, collaboration, and mutual support, resulting in improved public power reliability across the region.”
Public power customers are without power for less than half the amount of time customers of other power providers are, according to national averages reported to the EIA.
North Carolina’s public power customers fare even better. They experience 41.5% fewer outages than customers of other power providers in the state. And when the power does go out, the outage lasts, on average, only about one-third as long as those with other providers.
“Tracking outages unlocks valuable, actionable data,” Sherri said. “It enables you to benchmark your utility’s reliability, uncover areas you can improve, and showcase outstanding reliability as part of the critical value your public power utility provides.”
If you’re an ElectriCities member interested in tracking your utility’s reliability, please contact Sherri Callery.
See the national list of 2023 Certificate of Excellence in Reliability recipients at www.PublicPower.org. For a list of awards ElectriCities member utilities have won, visit the Awards and Accolades page on the ElectriCities website.