The City of Hastings Utility Department received notification recently of national recognition for achieving exceptional electric reliability in 2025. 

 Hastings Utilities was awarded an Excellence in Reliability certificate by the American Public Power Association. To quality for an Excellence in Reliability certificate, a public power utility must be in the top quartile of utilities for System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI) including or excluding Major Event Days based on the Energy Information Administration data in 2020 – 2024, thereby qualifying for the 2025 designation. 

The recognition comes from the American Public Power Association, a trade group that represents more than 2,000 not-for-profit, community-owned electric utilities.

This is the third consecutive year the Hastings Utilities Department earned the Excellence in Reliability designation. 

“We are proud to once again receive this recognition,” said Derek Zeisler, Utility Manager for the City of Hastings. “It is a testament to the hard work of all our staff to ensure that we keep Hastings powered.”

APPA helps electric utilities track power outage and restoration data through its subscription-based PowerTRX Reliability service. Once per year, APPA’s Reliability Team compares this data to national statistics tracked by the U.S. Energy Information Administration for all types of electric utilities.

“I am continually inspired by the unwavering commitment of public power utilities to delivering reliable service to their communities," said Adrienne Lotto, Senior Vice President of Grid Security, Operations, and Technical Services. "The utilities honored here have set the standard for excellence and dedication, ensuring that families and businesses can count on their local power providers every day. Congratulations to these outstanding teams for earning this well-deserved recognition and for making a positive difference where it matters most."

Nationwide, the average public power customer has their lights out for less than half the amount of time that customers of other types of utilities do.

For more information about Hastings Utilities and its commitment to reliability, visit www.cityofhastings.org/utilities.

APPA published a list of 2025 awardees on its website at https://www.publicpower.org/reliability-tracking/certificate-excellence-reliability.