Lodi Mayor Ann Groves Lloyd received recognition for dedication to public power and the importance of locally owned utilities Sept. 17 during the WPPI Energy 45th Annual Meeting and Anniversary Celebration.
“This honor highlights the dedication Mayor Groves Lloyd has to ensuring local lawmakers are heard at the state and federal level,” said Mike Peters, president and CEO of WPPI Energy. “This work is vital because legislators hear directly what is most important to the people in towns and cities they represent. Our members are at their best when they work together to help their communities thrive.”
The mayor received the Jim Coutts Distinguished Service Award, which recognizes an effort to build grassroots support for policies that benefit WPPI member utilities and customers by someone who has effectively contributed to raising public awareness of locally owned utilities. It is named after former Cedarburg mayor and long-time utility commissioner Jim Coutts, one of public power and WPPI’s most ardent supporters until his passing in November 2020.
Groves Lloyd began advocating for the place she calls home long before she was elected to the position in April 2020.
The mayor sponsored Lodi as the first municipality in Wisconsin to take part in Focus on Energy’s behavioral energy efficiency pilot program, Save to Give Challenge, and is described as a community leader who has established herself as an advocate for protecting utility and customer interests. She spends time actively building support for policies that benefit WPPI member utilities, attending public power events throughout the state and across the nation.
“I’m honored to be given this award and be counted among so many important advocates for public power,” Groves Lloyd said. “We are grateful to have lawmakers who will sit down and talk to us about the issues that affect people in our communities. Those conversations are vital to preserving local utilities and their ability to provide affordable and reliable electricity.”