SMMPA Earns Minnesota Safety Council Governor’s Safety Award

The Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (SMMPA) will be recognized for excellence in workplace safety and health during the 2022 Minnesota Safety and Health Conference, May 3-4. SMMPA is one of 191 employers to be honored through the awards program. This is the fourth consecutive year that SMMPA has received the Governor’s Safety Award.

“We place a high priority on ensuring that our entire team returns home safe and healthy at the end of each workday,” said SMMPA Chief Executive Officer Dave Geschwind. “We are honored to join like-minded employers around the state in being recognized for our efforts to foster a safety-oriented work culture.”

Since 1934, the annual Governor’s Safety Awards program has honored Minnesota employers with exceptional safety performance. Applicants are judged on several years of injury data as it compares with their industry’s national statistics, and on their progress in implementing a comprehensive safety program.

Agency receives 2021 APPA Safety Award of Excellence

Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (SMMPA) today was awarded a Safety Award of Excellence by its national trade association, the America Public Power Association. SMMPA was one of 135 public power utilities across the country to be recognized for their dedication to safety.

“We take the safety of our employees very seriously,” said SMMPA Chief Executive Officer Dave Geschwind. “We are pleased to be recognized for our dedication to safety and even more pleased that it results in avoiding potentially tragic accidents.”

Entrants were placed in categories according to their number of worker-hours and ranked based on the most incident-free records during 2021. A utility’s incidence rate, used to judge entries, is based on its number of work-related reportable injuries or illnesses and the number of worker-hours during 2021, as defined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

Thank you for helping the environment!

SMMPA and its member utilities offer programs to help customers use energy wisely, lower their electric bills, and reduce their impact on the environment. 

 

In 2021, SMMPA Member Utilities paid $3.2M in rebates to help their customers invest in energy-efficient equipment. Customers saved over 44,000,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity - enough to power 5,876 average homes - and prevented or eliminated more than 32,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions a year. That’s equivalent to planting 36,000 acres of trees.

 

Click here and select your utility to get in on the action.

Agency unveils new ad campaign

In 2020, the Agency introduced SMMPA 2.0, a strategic initiative to reshape its generation portfolio. Key tenets of the strategic initiative are the retirement of the Sherco 3 coal-fired power plant in 2030 and replacing it primarily with wind and solar generation as well as investing in maximizing the potential of electric vehicles, and preparing for technological advances in the electric industry. 

But at its core, SMMPA 2.0 is about investing in the future. A future that provides for the electric needs and wants of our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Today’s youth are articulating a vision for power generation that is defining our path forward. Their imagined future is carbon neutral and driven by the power of the sun and wind.

 

In their future, we see our future.

 

It is around this notion that SMMPA has developed its new ad campaign. In this campaign, we explore our SMMPA 2.0 strategic initiative through the eyes of children. In a light-hearted role reversal, two children explain elements of the initiative to two adults who are working a lemonade stand. We also have these same two kids setting out on a tour of the SMMPA member communities and making mention of something unique about each community.

Click here to view our new ads. We hope you enjoy!

Joe Hoffman joins SMMPA as Chief External Affairs Officer

Joe Hoffman

Joe Hoffman

Joe Hoffman will join Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (SMMPA) on March 1 as the Director of Agency and Government Relations & Chief External Affairs Officer. He replaces Chris Schoenherr who is retiring from SMMPA on April 1 after over forty years in the energy industry and seven years with the Agency.


Since 2004, Hoffman has served as City Administrator & Utility General Manager at the City of Preston, Minnesota. In addition to overseeing all city and utility operations, he developed and implemented a multi-year plan to obtain $35 million in state and federal funding to construct a State Veterans Home in the community.


Prior to joining the City of Preston, Hoffman served as Executive Director for the Southeastern Minnesota Development Corporation from 2001-2004.


Hoffman holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Administration from Winona State University. He has served as a member of the SMMPA Board of Directors since 2012 and as Board President from 2018-2020. Hoffman is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association and SEMCAC Community Action Agency.


“We are delighted to have Joe join our team.” says SMMPA Chief Executive Officer Dave Geschwind. “Joe knows SMMPA, our members, and the utility industry, making him an excellent fit for this position. We look forward to his proven leadership in helping SMMPA and its municipal utility members meet the needs of their customers.” Geschwind also congratulated Chris Schoenherr on his long and successful utility industry career. “We’re fortunate to have had Chris here at SMMPA for the last seven years of his career. He’s made a long-lasting positive impact on the Agency in his relatively short time here.”