Norwich — Norwich Public Utilities has received a national award of excellence for the operation of its natural gas system.

The American Public Gas Association presented NPU last month with the System Operational Achievement Recognition (SOAR) award at its 2017 annual conference. NPU was one of 26 out of the more than 700 APGA members selected for the silver level award by its peers on the association's Operations and Safety Committee.

The selection was based on excellence in four areas: system integrity, system improvement, employee safety and workforce development.

“Norwich Public Utilities was highly rated in all four areas that are required of SOAR,” APGA President and CEO Bert Kalisch said in a news release. “NPU consistently demonstrates a commitment to providing natural gas safely and efficiently to all those in their community and as such, serves as a model for all other natural gas utilities in the country."