The Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska (MEAN) presented Doug Linton, director of utilities for the City of Fort Morgan, Colo., with its Rudy Hultgren Dedicated Service Award March 19 at the NMPP Energy Annual Conference in Lincoln, Neb.
The award is presented annually to an individual of a MEAN member utility who has displayed commendable efforts in promoting the use of public power and its ideals. MEAN, the wholesale power supply organization of NMPP Energy, serves wholesale power supply and related services to more than 60 communities in Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska and Wyoming. The award is a memorial tribute to Rudy Hultgren, a utility consultant and well-known and respected citizen of Lyons, Colo., who played an active role in community service and leadership.
Linton is in his 36th year of working for the City of Fort Morgan. He began his career as an apprentice lineworker, was named superintendent of the electric department in 2007 and was chosen as director of utilities in 2022, overseeing the City’s water, wastewater, electric and natural gas utilities.
He placed a high priority on system electric reliability, including executing a 10-year master plan for improvements to the City’s electric system. His efforts were awarded when the City received the distinguished RP3 award for electric system reliability from the American Public Power Association in 2020.
He has been an advocate for technological innovation within the industry, including:
- Helping to bring a fiber optics system to Fort Morgan and overseeing construction of the network that was installed in less than a year and under budget.
- Leading the implementation of an automated control of the City’s substations through a new SCADA system (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) and installing a first-of-its-kind cybersecurity system to protect it.
For more than 35 years, Linton has exemplified the values and ideals of public power utilities in serving the citizens of Fort Morgan.
As the recipient of the award, Linton received $350 which will be designated to go to a community project or group.