Cowlitz PUD gets accolades for keeping workers safe

The Cowlitz Public Utilities District has received top honors from two industry groups, commending the agency's safety record.

The local PUD was awarded a "Platinum" safety award from the American Public Power Association earlier this month, and was separately honored last month as tops in its category for safety from the Northwest Public Power Association, according to news releases from the PUD and the two nonprofit organizations advocating for community-owned utilities.

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Only one other municipal received a Platinum level distinction in the Group F category, Turlock Irrigation District in Turlock, California. The award commended safety at public utilities that had more than 250,000 worker hours and less than 1 million worker hours in 2025, according to the APPA.

Nearby Clark Public Utilities, however, was in Group F and received a "Diamond" award among 29 other utilities across the United States and Guam.

More than 240 public utilities entered APPA Safety Awards program across the country, according to Cowlitz PUD. The APPA ranked utilities based on worker-hour categories and ranked them based on factors such as a lack of incident reports and the strength of their safety programs.

The NWPPA award was issued on April 16 during the association's Engineering and Operations Conference in Portland.

In its category for agencies with 150,000 to 300,000 hours of exposure, Cowlitz PUD took first beating out Oregon's Umatilla Electric Cooperative in second place and Idaho Falls Power in third, according to the NWPPA.

Neighboring Clark PUD took first place in its category for public utilities with 300,000 to 1 million hours of experience. It beat out the Oregon's Eugene Water and Electric Board in second place.

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This story was originally published May 26, 2026 at 4:23 AM.