Safety leadership and training were the focus of the 2026 Safety and Energy Conference, held Jan. 28-29 in Springfield. The two-day event brought together electric cooperative professionals, safety leaders and industry partners for educational sessions, networking and recognition of outstanding safety performance.
The conference, which was held by the Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives, covered a range of topics focused on leadership, safety and workplace culture, including personal influence and leadership, technical safety training, and the role of safety culture in the workplace.
Safety awards were also given, recognizing cooperatives for exemplary safety performance over the past year. Adams Electric Cooperative earned the 2025 Best Loss Time Rate, the 2025 Best Incident Rate and the 2025 RESAP Certificates of Achievement.
The Best Loss Time Rate Award is given to cooperatives with the lowest amount of lost work time due to workplace injuries, relative to the number of hours worked. The Best Incident Rate Award recognizes the cooperatives with the lowest overall number of recordable workplace incidents, including minor injuries.
The 2025 RESAP Certificate of Achievement indicates that the co-op completed the Rural Electric Safety Achievement Program, a program that was developed to maintain a culture of safety at cooperatives. By participating in the program, cooperatives commit to safety as an organizational value through training, educating and assessing its workforce.
As the electric industry continues to evolve, safety remains a top priority. Adams Electric Cooperative will always be committed to a strong safety culture for both employees and cooperative members.
Pictured (left to right): AEC Employees Brad Smith, Michelle Field, Dustin Waddell, and Austin Aschemann