City of Marlow's Electric Department awarded safety award

December 14, 2023

Safety First
Marlow City Administrator Jason McPherson, Electric Superintendent Chris Dilbeck and the city electric workers, Brian Davis, Wayne Stepp, Josh Sheppard, and Cameron James accept the 1[st] place award on behalf of the Marlow Municipal Authority for a safety award presented by Cheryl Adams, the Executive director of the Municipal Electric Systems of Oklahoma, Inc. (MESO) on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023. *See related story for details. Photo by Toni Hopper/The Marlow Review

The Municipal Electric Systems of Oklahoma, Inc. (MESO) awarded Marlow Municipal Authority (MMA) with the First-Place award (cities with a population of less than 10,000 people category) in the association's annual Electric Operations and Reliability Competition.

"The operation of a quality city starts with safety," said Jason McPherson, city administrator for the City of Marlow. "When personnel focus on safety, all other operations reach a superior standard. The Marlow electric department continues to reach that superior standard by taking the approach of putting safety first, and it shows throughout the utility."

The electric utility's personnel went the year with no reportable incidents, resulting in no lost work time, either "days away from work," "restricted light duty," or "medical treatment" cases in 10,400 hours worked.

"Achieving this level of service reliability requires a tremendous effort from many people at the utility," said Cheryl Adams, MESO General Manager. "I congratulate the team in Marlow for a job well done.

"The things well-run municipally owned electric utilities do to accomplish this level of success includes many things, including properly training employees, stressing safe work behaviors, maintaining accurate records, performing maintenance as needed, and being prepared to respond to emergencies," Adams noted. "This team excels in all of these areas."

This is the 6th time Marlow Electric has been recognized by MESO for safety. Marlow Electric achieved this designation in 2019, 2017, 2016, 2015 and 2008. Marlow Electric has also been recognized nationally by the American Public Power Association in 2022, 2021, 2020 and 2019.

MESO is a municipal utility trade association representing cities owning a locally controlled electric utility, generally referred to as "Public Power." The association's member utilities provide electric services and electric power generation to some 750,000 people in Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, and Arkansas.

MESO's mission is to enhance our members' value to their customers through industry best-practice programs, training, and services. MESO serves municipal professionals through safety, job training, and professional development programs. We believe in building strong communities through a well-trained workforce.