Mason PUD 3 has earned four awards in the Northwest Public Power Association Excellence in Communications contest and a new recognition from the American Public Power Association’s Cybersecurity Accelerator Program.

The communications awards were announced in September during the Northwest Innovations in Communications conference held in Walla Walla, Wash. This year featured a record-breaking 52 organizations submitting 278 entries, according to NWPPA.  Contestants are divided into four groups based on the amount of electricity they sell. Group C contestant Mason PUD 3 earned:

  • Internal Communications, First place
  • Annual Report, Third place
  • Social Media, Third place
  • Special Publication (Calendar), Third place

Recognizing the growing importance of cybersecurity, Mason PUD 3 also participated in the inaugural APPA Cybersecurity Accelerator Program. The CAP recognizes utilities’ work in multiple areas and names gold, platinum, or diamond designations to those who demonstrate best practices. Mason PUD 3 earned the highest Diamond-level designation, announced in September at the Cybersecurity and Technology Summit.

According to APPA, utilities’ cybersecurity capabilities and practices are assessed across four main categories: 

  • Internal controls: the processes, practices, and technical safeguards for networks and data.  
  • Cybersecurity governance and training: the roles, responsibilities, structure, and resources that guide an organization’s security strategy.
  • Cyber incident response: the structured processes and procedures organizations use to detect, contain, and recover from cybersecurity events.
  • Cyber risk management: identifying, assessing, prioritizing, and mitigating risks to critical systems and data to reduce the likelihood and impact of cyber incidents.

CAP is designed not only to recognize utilities that demonstrate strong cybersecurity practices, but also to help every participating utility better understand and communicate its current capabilities, identify opportunities for improvement, prioritize future investments, and measure progress over time.

“Recognitions like these are a benchmark for the work we do,” PUD 3 CEO Annette Creekpaum said. “No matter our size as a utility, we want to be at the forefront of our industry and provide the best services we can to our communities.”