FRANKFORT, Ky. (Mar. 10, 2016) – Kentucky Labor Cabinet Deputy Secretary Mike Nemes was on hand March 10 at Pennyrile Electric to present a Governor’s Safety and Health Award for their exemplary commitment to workplace safety.

In recognition of Pennyrile Electric’s fifth award of this kind, Labor Cabinet Secretary Derrick Ramsey congratulated them on their achievement.

“The 113 employees of Pennyrile Electric work together every day to maintain over 5,000 miles of powerlines across nine counties,” Secretary Ramsey said.  “This kind of workload combined with their long safety record makes what they do even more impressive.  On behalf of Governor Bevin and the Kentucky Labor Cabinet, I’m proud to acknowledge their hard work and dedication toward a safe workplace.”

Based in Hopkinsville, Ky., Pennyrile Electric is a part of Touchstone Energy Cooperatives that services 47,000 customers in Christian, Trigg, Logan, Todd, Muhlenberg, Lyon, Caldwell, Butler and Simpson Counties.

“Receiving this award is a celebration of a safe environment for our employees, and we strive to make it better each day,” Pennyrile Electric President and CEO Greg Grissom said.  “We could not achieve this without each and every employee’s hard work. The employees deserve this prominent recognition and we are very proud of all of the accomplishments our employees have attained in safety.”

The Kentucky Labor Cabinet presents the Governor’s Safety and Health Award to highlight outstanding safety and health performance in Kentucky’s workplaces.  A business may qualify for the award if its employees achieve a required number of hours worked without experiencing a lost time injury or illness. The required number of hours is dependent upon the number of employees.  Pennyrile Electric employees have worked 223 days injury free and approximately 310,000 hours without a lost time accident.

— Kentucky Labor Cabinet