WASHINGTON, D.C., March 30, 2026 – Bristol Tennessee Essential Services (BTES) has earned the American Public Power Association’s Safety Award of Excellence for safe operating practices in 2025. The utility earned the Diamond award in the category for utilities with 158,402 worker-hours of annual worker exposure.
“Safety is something that we take very seriously and prioritize here at BTES. This honor highlights our ongoing commitment to our employees and providing the safe, reliable service our community counts on,” said Clayton Dowell, BTES CEO.
More than 240 utilities entered the annual Safety Awards for 2025. The entrants are placed in accordance with their number of worker-hours and ranked based on the most incident-free records and overall state of their safety programs and culture during 2025. The incidence rate is based on the number of work-related reportable injuries or illnesses and the number of worker-hours during 2025, as defined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
“BTES is proud of our safety culture,” said Steve Craddock, BTES Vice President of Operations and Safety. “This award is a testament to the hard work that has gone into building this culture and ensuring that our team members have a safe work environment.”
“In Public Power, safety excellence isn’t achieved by chance. It’s earned through unwavering discipline, strong leadership, and a culture where every team member looks out for one another,” said Jon Beasley, Chair of APPA’s Safety Committee and Vice-President of Electric Cities of GA. “These Safety Award recipients stand as proof that commitment and consistency save lives, strengthen communities, and set the benchmark for our entire industry,”
APPA has conducted the Safety Awards annually for more than sixty-eight years. APPA is the voice of not-for-profit, community-owned utilities that power 2,000 towns and cities nationwide.
