Rock Falls’ Electric Department honored for reliable service to community

ROCK FALLS – The city of Rock Falls’ Electric Department has received national recognition for achieving exceptional electric reliability in 2024.

The recognition comes from the American Public Power Association, a trade group that represents more than 2,000 nonprofit, community-owned electric utilities. APPA helps electric utilities track power outage and restoration data through its subscription-based eReliability Tracker service.

Once a year, APPA’s reliability team compares this data with national statistics tracked by the U.S. Energy Information Administration for all types of electric utilities.

“Year after year, data consistently demonstrate public power utilities provide highly reliable service,” said Paul Zummo, APPA director of research and development. “The utilities recognized here are truly elite when it comes to keeping the lights on. Their communities should be proud of the hard work and dedication of their local power providers as they earn this truly deserved recognition.”

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.

“We are proud to receive this recognition. It is a testament to the hard work of all our staff to ensure that we keep Rock Falls powered,” said Larry Hanrahan, Electric Department operations director.

RFED operates the hydroelectric generation facility on the Rock River, as well as nine peaking generators throughout the city. The electric utility is maintained by eight to 10 linemen, a customer service center staff and various service personnel, according to www.rockfalls61071.net.

According to the website, Rock Falls’ electric utility is one of only three communities in Illinois with the RP3 designation. The American Public Power Association RP3 program recognizes utilities that demonstrate high proficiency in four areas: reliability, safety, workforce development and system improvement.