MID earns national safety award

The Merced Irrigation District has received a top national award for electric safety from the American Public Power Association.

The district earned first place among electric utilities of its size for having the most injury-free work hours in 2014, winning the Award of Excellence for safe operating practices, district officials reported in a news release.

“This is a tremendous honor,” said Don Ouchley, MID’s deputy general manager of energy resources. “This award is a direct reflection of their commitment to safety on the job and for maintaining safety for the public we serve.”

The chairman of the APPA safety committee presented the award in May during the association’s annual Engineering & Operations Technical Conference in Sacramento.

According to the APPA, more than 290 utilities entered the annual safety awards competition, the highest number of entrants in the program’s history.

MID received first place from a pool of utilities that had between 30,000 and 59,999 work hours.

This story was originally published June 8, 2015 at 3:07 PM with the headline "MID earns national safety award."