ALBEMARLE, NC – The City of Albemarle once again earned multiple Public Power Awards of Excellence.

Presented by ElectriCities of North Carolina, the awards reflect Albemarle’s commitment to continuously providing outstanding electric service to the community. Public Power Awards of Excellence recognize public power providers for developing a future-focused mindset, strengthening public power, providing superior power, delivering customer-centered innovation, and prioritizing their people as their greatest asset.

The City of Albemarle received public power awards in four categories:

FUTURE-FOCUSED – This award recognizes communities with a forward-looking mindset. Albemarle was honored in this category for implementing a new utility billing system. The system supports the development of a future online customer portal that will provide real-time usage monitoring, account management, and payment tools.

STRENGTHEN PUBLIC POWER – This award celebrates communities that build public and political support for public power. Albemarle earned this recognition for communication efforts that highlighted the financial value of public power as a not-for-profit system. The City also showcased how public power supports people through a network of mutual aid providers, especially during crises such as Hurricane Helene.

CUSTOMER-CENTERED INNOVATION – This award honors public power providers that innovate and invest to better serve their customers and communities. Albemarle was recognized for implementing the outage reporting system, Daupler. Field crews now receive instant notifications, allowing them to efficiently triage impacted areas and reduce response times. During larger outage events, additional crews can be requested directly through the platform, streamlining emergency response efforts.

PEOPLE – This award distinguishes communities that leverage their workforce as their greatest asset. Albemarle earned this recognition for its compensation adjustment plan, which has helped attract experienced electric staff and retain skilled employees.

"We're honored to once again be recognized with the Public Power Awards of Excellence. It takes a dedicated and skilled team performing at a high level to earn this recognition. We're very grateful for their remarkable work," said Darren Rhodes, Albemarle City Manager.

“Receiving a Public Power Award of Excellence validates the hard work of outstanding people in your community who are dedicated to providing the superior service required to keep your community powered,” said Andy Fusco, Chief Strategy Officer at ElectriCities. ElectriCities is the membership organization that provides power supply and related critical services to over 90 community-owned electric systems in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia—collectively known as public power.

“At ElectriCities, we are honored to celebrate this year’s Public Power Awards of Excellence recipients, alongside the customers and communities that benefit from their expertise,” said Fusco.

Nearly 1.3 million people in cities and towns across North Carolina get their electricity from public power providers. Because these public power communities own their electric systems, they maintain local control and decision-making over their operations, providing unbeaten reliability and support for their local economy.