There are many inherent safety risks associated with providing reliable electricity to our communities. In the field, many of our employees work on or around energized equipment, such as high-voltage powerlines, and log thousands of hours on the roads. In industrial settings such as our power plants, hazards exist in many forms, including high-voltage, high-pressure systems and hazardous chemicals. It is because of these risks and others, in every work environment, that our company focuses so much attention on safety. Because of that focus, every hour and every mile, our company is among the best in the utility industry in safety performance and is committed to zero injuries by making safety an integral part of daily activities.
Our safety vision statement
Progress Energy is committed to a healthy and injury-free workplace and to the safety of our employees, families, customers, contractors, visitors and the communities in which we operate.
We affirm that:
Health and Safety is a core value.
Safety is first in every task we perform and in every decision we make.
Safety is a strong indicator of operational excellence.
We expect continuous improvement in our safety performance.
All accidents and injuries are preventable.
Safety is everyone’s responsibility.
Safety performance
Our overall 2008 employee safety record continued to be among the best in the utility industry. In particular, our company’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) injury and illness rate has been below 1.0 for two consecutive years. Progress Energy 2008’s safety performance was also 75 percent below the electric industry’s North America Industrial Classification System (NAICS) OSHA rate.
Our health and safety record in 2008:
OSHA injury rate increased 10 percent – from 0.70 in 2007 to 0.77 in 2008.
OSHA illnesses rate decreased 33 percent – from 0.21 in 2007 to 0.14 in 2008.
Overall OSHA rate increased 1 percent – from 0.90 in 2007 to 0.91 in 2008.
Controllable vehicle accidents decreased 1.7 percent – from 1.19 (per 1 million miles driven) in 2007 to 1.17 in 2008.
Achieving and maintaining top industry safety performance require ongoing diligence and continuous improvement. Progress Energy has continued its successful Zero in on Safety campaign, with a focus in 2009 on engaging employees in identifying and removing hazards in the workplace.
Contractor safety
Our commitment to safety extends to the contractors who support our operations. Under our company’s Contractor Safety Program, the safety performance of prospective contractors is evaluated before companies are selected. Contract terms also specify that safety requirements and safety orientations must be given before any work is performed. The company monitors contractor safety performance through routine on-site observations and more formal audits of programs and practices.
The combination of careful contractor selection and conscientious oversight is effective in reducing contractor injuries.
Our Generation and Transmission Construction Department reported an average OSHA-recordable rate of 0.5 over the last three years for contractor work at our sites. This is less than 10 percent of the Bureau of Labor Statistics published industry-average OSHA-recordable rate of 5.3.
Pandemic flu planning
As an essential service provider, we must maintain the ability to provide power to our customers during a pandemic flu outbreak. In early 2006, our company formed a Pandemic Flu Working Group to develop plans to ensure uninterrupted operations. These plans were incorporated into our business critical infrastructure strategy and are tested and refined as new information becomes available. We launched an Intranet site to ensure employees stay informed and are prepared.
