Altec Industries will provide Richmond Power and Light with a new 70-foot bucket truck.
The RP&L board, which is composed of Richmond Common Council members, awarded Altec the bid during its May 4 meeting. Altec, the only bidder, priced the truck for the line department at $229,764. The utility budgeted $265,000 for the truck.
Altec did not offer a trade-in value for RP&L’s 2015 bucket truck. General Manager Tony Foster said RP&L will put the 2015 truck on an auction website.
The board also gave Foster permission to request bids for a 48-foot bucket truck for substation department use. RP&L will offer a 2015 model as trade.
Retirements
Foster highlighted five employees who recently retired with 159 years of combined service.
They are: Pat Reaser, 31 years; Robert Ullery, 37 years; Lisa Tinsley, 35 years; Mary Stephens, 37 years; and Michael Baker, 19 years.
Reliability award
The American Public Power Association awarded RP&L a Certificate of Excellence in Reliability for significantly exceeding the five-year average for the top quartile of national electric utilities.
Foster said RP&L’s reliability rate last year was 99.9851%.
A version of this article appeared in the May 13 2026 print edition of the Western Wayne News.