In its most recent election at its fall board meeting in Asheville, North Carolina, the American Public Power Association (APPA) elected four new members to its Board of Directors; including a local delegate from Chambersburg Borough, the first to represent Pennsylvania at the national level. The APPA Board of Directors comprises utility leaders and policymakers from public power communities across the nation. These utility leaders provide strategic guidance and governance for the association and help shape APPA’s advocacy, education, and member service priorities.
The APPA Board confirmed the following new directors:
- Cory Hicks, CEO of Paducah Power System, to represent Region 7.
- Joel Ledbetter, General Manager of Piedmont Municipal Power Agency, to represent Region 5.
- Jeffrey M. Stonehill, Borough Manager and Director of Utilities for the Borough of Chambersburg, to represent Region 8.
- James Takehara, electric utility director for the City of Shasta Lake, to represent Region 6.
The Borough of Chambersburg Electric Utility stands out as the largest of the 35 municipal electric systems in Pennsylvania, serving over 11,000 customers. It holds the unique distinction of being the only municipal electric utility in the state that benefits from its own generation assets, including a 23-megawatt dual-fuel peaking plant and a green energy landfill gas facility. Because it operates as a customer-owned, not-for-profit entity, it consistently provides some of the lowest residential electricity rates in the Commonwealth. Furthermore, the utility boasts exceptional grid stability, having earned a Diamond-level Reliable Public Power Provider (RP3) designation for maintaining average annual outage times of under 20 minutes per customer, significantly outperforming major commercial utilities. Finally, its operations make Chambersburg the only municipality in Pennsylvania to simultaneously offer both a community-owned electric and natural gas utility system.
The American Public Power Association is the voice of not-for-profit, community-owned utilities that power 2,000 towns and cities nationwide. It represents public power before the federal government to protect the interests of the more than 55 million people that public power utilities serve across the United States and its territories. APPA advises on electricity policy, grid technology and operations, and workforce development in support of safe, modern, and resilient utilities.
Mr. Stonehill, who also is currently President of the Pennsylvania Municipal Electric Association (PMEA) Board of Directors, will serve in this additional capacity without compensation.
For questions or media availability, please contact Jamia Wright, Borough Secretary, at jwright@chambersburgpa.gov.
