MILFORD — The city's electric department has again earned national recognition for providing reliable and safe power.

The American Public Power Association, which represents  approximately 2,000 community-owned electric utilities nationwide, has honored the city with a Reliable Public Power Provider, or RP3,  designation. Milford has earned the award multiple times in the last decade or so; most recently in 2020. (The designation lasts for three years.)

"We couldn’t be prouder to be honored with this designation," said City Manager Mark Whitfield in a press release. "This is the culmination of a lot of work from a lot of people who really care about powering our community. But this designation is not a final destination. We are committed to continuing to look for ways to improve our operations and service to our customers."

Utilities are scrutinized based on reliability, safety, workforce development and system improvement; criteria include "sound business practices" and a "utility-wide commitment to safe and reliable delivery of electricity," according to the association's website. The group recognized 109 utilities across the country this year.

An RP3 designation "is a great honor signifying a utility has demonstrated commitment to industry best practices," said Troy Adams, chair of of the asssociation's RP3 review panel and general manager at Manitowoc Public Utilities in Wisconsin, in the organization's release announcing this year's designees.