Philippi receives American Public Power Association Award

Columbus, OH: Philippi Municipal Electric Department (PMED), a West Virginia public power utility serving approximately 1,779 customers and an American Municipal Power, Inc. (AMP) Board of Trustees member, was honored with the American Public Power Association’s (APPA) Sue Kelly Community Service Award. Philippi was presented the prestigious award on June 22 during the APPA National Conference.

The Sue Kelly Community Service Award recognizes public power utilities for their “good neighbor” activities that demonstrate commitment to the local community. While consisting of a small staff of only two, PMED regularly uses its resources and manpower to assist the local community. Over the past year, the utility helped the Philippi Municipal Building Commission with the long-term renovation of the historic Grand Theatre building. It also assisted the Barbour County Historical Museum in moving a 2,000-pound historical piano from a private residence to the local museum and helped a local food pantry move large pallets of donated food items from a semi-truck to avoid unloading by hand. Additionally, the utility took extra measures to limit any outages or disruptions to schools and local businesses during its recent $2.5-million substation improvement project.

“Public power is about so much more than electricity, and the Philippi Municipal Electric Department understands that,” said Jolene Thompson, AMP President/CEO. “Public power systems work hard to provide their customer-owners with outstanding service, while putting in the effort to be real partners in their communities. Philippi is truly deserving of this honor.”

The APPA is the service organization for the nation’s more than 2,000 community-owned electric utilities that serve more than 49 million Americans.

View the official APPA news release here.