Muscatine Power and Water (MPW) recently received three prestigious awards for its safety practices and record. At Tuesday’s Board of Water, Electric and Communications meeting, the Trustees were informed about MPW’s recent honors and updated on the use of technology and other measures that contributed to these recognitions from national and regional organizations.
The Iowa-Illinois Safety Council (IISC) awarded MPW two safety awards at a recent ceremony. MPW received the Hazard Control Recognition Award for demonstrating and implementing identifiable changes to reduce or eliminate individual exposure to a hazard in the workplace. They also were recognized by IISC with their prestigious President’s Award for outstanding contributions in controlling hazards. One notable innovation is the use of drones to perform equipment inspections on telecommunications towers at the Utility’s administrative offices and the Power Plant. Previously, workers had to climb the towers to inspect the equipment. While workers did utilize fall protection equipment, the use of drones is a safer and more efficient process.
Additionally, MPW earned a Diamond Award, the highest designation, from the American Public Power Association’s (APPA) Safety Award of Excellence in the category for utilities with 250,000 to 999,999 worker-hours of annual worker exposure. MPW worked 494,313 hours in 2024. Criteria for the APPA award include proactive, preventive and predictive measures; safety programs and culture, and lagging indicators.
“MPW is very proud of our safety culture,” said Gage Huston, general manager of MPW. “These awards are a testament to the safety culture our employees have built and the hard work that goes into ensuring that our team members have a safe work environment and that each of them goes home safely to their families every day.”
Staff updated the Trustee’s about the results of a recent electric reliability standards compliance audit. Every three years, utilities are required to undergo an audit to ensure compliance with the NERC Reliability and Critical Infrastructure Protection Standards. Overall, the feedback received was positive, with the onsite visit requirement being waived since MPW staff’s documentation review and virtual interviews were found to be thorough and satisfactory.
“The successful reliability audit, along with the recent safety awards underscores MPW’s culture of safety, reliability and active engagement by staff and leadership,” Huston shared. “I’m always impressed with the insightful, proactive approach staff takes to solving problems, ensuring the reliable delivery of power and maintaining safety in high-hazard situations.”
Mark Roberts, director of finance & administrative services, discussed the 2024 financial audit for MPW, stating, “MPW received an unmodified or “clean” opinion from its auditor, Eide Bailly LLC, with no concerns about internal controls.” Roberts went on to note “it was a very smooth process, which included implementation of a new accounting standard for compensated absences. Further, the audit results were a testament to the MPW accounting & finance team’s efforts preparing for and during the financial audit and executing the reporting during 2024 that led to the result.”
Financial results for March were also presented. MPW’s net loss for the month of $219,000 was $157,000 higher than what was planned and $604,000 below the net income reported in March 2024.
In other business, the Trustees:
- Approved payment for March 2025 expenditures and transactions for a total of $7,228,812.02.
- Received and placed on file the 2024 Audit for Electric, Water, and Communications Utilities.
- Approved the recommendation to continue engagement of Eide Bailly LLP for Water, Electric, and Communications Utilities as MPW’s auditors, subject to reasonable pricing from the firm.
- Approved the General Manager’s authority to sell a 5-acre parcel of land to Muscatine County for $58,043.70 plus costs incurred by MPW and current tenant to effect the transaction.
- Received and placed on file the first quarter progress implementing the Utility’s 2024-2026 Strategic Plan and Key Performance Indicators for that period.