Community & Awards

We’re connected to the community by a lot more
than power lines.

For more than 100 years, the HBPW has been proud to provide electric, water, wastewater treatment, and fiber optic services to Holland. And as the community has grown, so has our involvement in it—both with programs designed to help our customers use the services we provide more safely and efficiently and in programming designed to enrich the lives of citizens across the City.

Community Enrichment

  • Holland in Bloom — Participated in the America in Bloom Competition
  • Weather Buoy Project
  • Tulip Time sponsorship and free water for parade-goers
  • Adopt-A-Highway, Highway Pickup
  • National Night Out
  • High School Internship Program
  • Lighting Up the Holidays in Centennial Park
  • $50,000 annual contribution to Lakeshore Advantage to further economic development in our community
  • Get Energized at the Park series
  • Sponsorship of the MAX Transit “1 in 3,000,000” Celebration and a presentation on Make it a Green Year
  • Partnerships with Herrick District Library, Habitat for Humanity, and Ottawa County Community Action Agency for Energy Efficiency and Optimization retrofits for residents across the community
  • Donation of 24 Electricity Home Monitoring Kits to Herrick Public Library
  • Employee-sponsored programs included Salvation Army's Angel Tree Toy Drive and the Community Action House Personal Products Drive

Community Education

  • Pharmaceutical collection programs to help customers understand the harm of throwing expired drugs into the trash or down the drain and to give them a safe way to dispose of them
  • Tech Center presentations on potential careers with the Holland BPW and in related fields
  • Dehumidifier and room air conditioner collection events in partnership with the Zeeland BPW, Grand Haven BLP, and Consumer’s Energy
  • Presentation to the Junior section of the Tulip City Gem & Mineral Club on coal and how it’s used to make power
  • Presentation of comprehensive summary of Holland Harbor dredging issues to the Macatawa Area Coordinating Council (MACC)
  • Participated as Chair of the Training Sub-Committee in the Ottawa County Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) Annual Conference
  • Participated in the Allegan LEPC Public Safety Expo with a booth on natural gas pipeline hazards and safety
  • Resources for Affordable, Healthy and Simple Living Expo
  • P21 Initiative presentations to educate the public on a variety of issues related to electrical generation and Holland’s growing energy need
  • An energy management curriculum for commercial and industrial customers titled “Energy Smarts for Businesses”
  • Sponsored the Hope College Student Housing Energy-Saving Competition

Our dedication to our community won us a number of awards this year, including an RP3 (Reliable Public Power Provider) Platinum designation for safety, reliability, work force development, and system improvement.

In 2010, the HBPW developed a Surface Water Intake Protection Plan (SWIPP) to identify all potential threats to our water supply and the ways in which we might mitigate those risks. At the time, the HBPW was the largest system to produce the voluntary analysis. This year, the HBPW was recognized by the Michigan Rural Water Association with the Water Utility of the Year award.

Since we began publishing our annual reports online four years ago, we’ve been awarded Best-in-Class Interactive Annual Report by the American Public Power Association (APPA). This spring, our 2011 Annual Report was awarded both a Gold ADDY Award and Judge’s Choice for Best Interactive at this year’s West Michigan ADDY Awards.

As always, our priority is on providing reliable, affordable, and sustainable electric, water, wastewater treatment, and broadband utilities—not on winning awards. Being recognized for providing them is icing on the cake.