Community Outreach

American Municipal Power, Inc. (AMP) takes pride in its community involvement. AMP has a number of projects, programs and awards in place to keep it involved in its member communities.

Special Events Kit

Get the word out about public power at fairs, festivals, community events and Public Power Week celebrations with a Special Events Kit. The kit includes a variety of promotional items imprinted with the powerwheel or AMP logo. Members can request one kit free of charge each calendar year. Additional kits and/or individual promotional items can be purchased at cost. Please give as much advance notice as possible to process requests and ensure availability of promotional items. To request a Special Events Kit, please contact Michele Lemmon, manager of public relations and digital media, at [email protected].

Ernie Energy

Ernie Energy is the official mascot of AMP’s public power communities. The mascot is available in two forms, an inflatable version that can “stand around” at fairs, festivals and other gatherings; or a costume that can be worn by a volunteer and become interactive with the crowd. The mascot is reserved on a first-come, first-served basis throughout the year.

Awards

Each Year AMP honors member communities for their outstanding achievements. Nomination information is sent to member communities each summer. The awards are presented during the awards banquet at the AMP Annual Conference. The following awards are presented annually:

  • Electric System Sustainability Award – recognize utilities that have made significant efforts in sustainability in terms of understanding the interconnections among economy, society and environment. 
  • Innovation Award – recognizes municipal electric communities’ innovations in terms of completing an innovative and/or unique project utilizing new technology or existing technology in a unique way.  
  • Public Power Promotion Award – honors utilities that have made a significant effort in their marketing, consumer awareness and branding efforts.
  • System Improvement Award – honors utilities that have made improvements in service to their customer owners.

AMP also presents these individual awards annually:

  • Seven Hats Award – recognizes a utility manager who serves a smaller community, and whose management responsibilities extend well beyond the scope of a manager in a larger system who has a larger staff.
  • Hard Hat Safety Award – honors utility employees who have contributed to safety within their community during the past year, shown adherence to on-the-job safety procedures, and promoted electrical safety within their department and community.
  • Member Distinction Award - recognizes utility employees, partners and consultants who have made significant local contributions to public power. 

For more information about our awards program, please visit the AMP Awards Program webpage here.