Dominion Power 2011 Annual Report Download - page 9

/ 2011 Summary Annual Report / Dominion Resources /
We cannot find another instance in the past 100
years in which a particular area in the U.S. was hit
by a significant earthquake and a major hurricane
within a seven-day period.
The epicenter of the August 23 earthquake
was just 11 miles from our nuclear-powered
North Anna Power Station in Louisa County, Va.
The quake, measuring a 5.8 magnitude on the
Richter scale, triggered an automatic shutdown
of both reactors, just as designed. For about
three months, during which we replaced
North Anna’s electric output with our existing
generation capacity and market purchases,
company and Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(NRC) teams worked together to test structures,
pipes, valves, pumps and safety equipment. In
the end, the NRC concluded that North Anna was
able to sustain the extreme force of this quake
safely and without serious damage. This finding
supports our consideration of a third nuclear
reactor on the site. We are awaiting a combined
construction and operating license (COL) from
the NRC, which could issue the COL as early as
late 2014. At that time, we will decide whether to
proceed to the construction phase.
Then, just three days after the earthquake,
Hurricane Irene hit, battering North Carolina and
Virginia for nearly 30 hours and inflicting massive
damage on Dominion’s electric transmission and
distribution systems. About half of our electric
utility customers — more than 1.2 million — lost
electricity at some point during the storm. When
it was over, thousands of line, patrol and support
personnel, and crews from more than 20 different
utilities and contract companies were deployed
for nearly a week to restore essential services
to all customers. It was the second-largest
restoration effort in our utility’s 102-year history.
The thousands of employees who worked
tirelessly throughout these back-to-back
disasters embody the “One Dominion”
philosophy. They put their personal lives on
hold to answer the call of duty. That selfless
commitment to their community and our
company ensured the safety of our customers
and our system.
Safety: Priority No. 1
At Dominion, safety is our paramount concern.
We want all our employees each day to return
home to their families safe and sound. We aim
high — one injury or accident is one too many.
Safety is embedded in our culture. Safety is also
essential to the financial health of our company.
Why?
Because when our people look out for each
other, everyone performs more efficiently and
effectively, accidents are reduced, creative
solutions are found to problems and morale
improves. A job safely and well done means
reliable service to our customers and better
returns for our owners.
In 2011, employees delivered on important
safety measures. I was proud when Dominion
ended the year with all-time bests in the U.S.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) “recordable incident rate” and the “lost
time/restricted duty incident rate.” The recordable
incident rate — the number of reported workplace
injuries per 100 employees — dropped to 0.92,
a 51 percent decline in the past five years. The lost
time/restricted duty incident rate — the number of
workplace injuries that resulted in lost workdays
or reassignment of duties per 100 employees — fell
to 0.42, a five-year, 55 percent decline.
A job safely
and well
done means
reliable
service
to our
customers
and better
returns for
our owners.