THE WAKEFIELD Municipal Gas & Light Department (WMGLD) was the recipient of three prestigious industry awards during the past year for operational excellence for both its electric and natural gas operations. WMGLD Senior System Engineer Vinny McMahon, Gas System Engineer Raven Fournier, and Business Manager Sylvia Vaccaro display the awards received by the utility from the American Public Power Association (APPA), and the American Public Gas Association (APGA).
WAKEFIELD – The Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department (WMGLD) was recently recognized by the American Public Power Association (APPA) with a Smart Energy Provider (SEP) designation. The WMGLD is one of only 94 public power utilities in the country that have been awarded the designation.
The prestigious SEP designation is the third industry award the WMGLD has received this year for operational excellence.
The SEP is a best practices designation for utilities that show commitment to and proficiency in energy efficiency, distributed generation, renewable energy, and environmental initiatives. According to APPA, the Smart Energy program provides national recognition of utility efforts to incorporate energy efficiencies and sustainability while providing affordable electric service. Achieving SEP designation helps public power utilities like the WMGLD to benchmark and evaluate their work on these topics against a set of industry best practices.
SEP designation recipients are selected by an expert panel of public power representatives of diverse backgrounds and regions with substantial industry expertise in the smart energy program disciplines.
In addition to the APPA recognition, the WMGLD recently received the American Public Gas Association (APGA) System Operational Achievement Recognition (SOAR) for demonstrated excellence in operating a natural gas utility. WMGLD was selected for the SOAR recognition by its peers on the APGA Operations and Safety Committee for demonstrated excellence in system integrity, system improvement, employee safety, and workforce development.
In addition to the SEP designation, APPA also recognized the WMGLD as a Reliable Public Power Provider (RP3) for organizational and operational excellence in its electric operations. The three-year designation recognizes utilities that demonstrate high proficiency in reliability, safety, workforce development, and system improvement. Only 274 of the more than 2,000 public power utilities hold a RP3 designation.
“The WMGLD has rounded out a very solid year of performance by being recognized by the American Public Power Association (APPA) as a Smart Energy Provider,” WMGLD General Manager Pete Dion said. “We are extremely proud of our team, not only for these prestigious accomplishments, but also for being recognized by our peers while navigating through the unprecedented challenges of Covid 19.”
