The Florida Municipal Electric Association (FMEA) awarded 20 Florida public power utilities with Building Strong Communities awards. These awards were created to recognize Florida’s community-owned public power utilities for providing extra services and programs that go beyond what they normally provide.
Not-for-profit public power utilities offer many benefits to the communities and customers they serve because they are locally owned, locally controlled and locally operated.
Winners were selected for programs and projects that provide community education, collect charitable donations, improve the environment, focus on crime prevention and provide other programs that strengthen their communities. Examples include:
- lighting ball fields
- supplying holiday flags
- providing lighting and decor throughout the community
- giving away trees
- contributing to food distribution organizations and blood drives
- supplying backpacks full of school supplies
- attending career days at local schools
This year’s “Building Strong Communities” award recipients include:
- Beaches Energy Services
- City of Blountstown
- City of Bushnell
- City of Chattahoochee
- Fort Pierce Utilities Authority
- City of Green Cove Springs
- Gainesville Regional Utilities
- Homestead Public Services
- JEA
- Keys Energy Services
- Kissimmee Utility Authority
- Lakeland Electric
- City of Leesburg
- City of Newberry
- New Smyrna Beach Utilities
- Ocala Electric Utility
- Orlando Utilities Commission
- City of Tallahassee
- City of Wauchula
- City of Winter Park Electric Utility
JEA CEO and Managing Director Vickie Cavey said, “We are honored to be recognized for all that JEA does to improve lives and build community in Northeast Florida. As a public power utility, our team members work to support and serve our customers day in and day out.”
For more information on FMEA and Florida’s public power communities, visit flpublicpower.com.
