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3
Investing
for Safety
America’s natural gas industry is pursuing an unprecedented program
to enhance the safety, reliability and capacity of its 2.4 million miles
of pipelines.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), pipelines rank as the country’s safest mode of
transportation.
e industry’s outstanding safety record is the result of nearly 45 years of major pipeline improvements.
To enhance this excellent record, natural gas companies are planning to replace an estimated 8.4 percent of
their 1.3 million miles of gas distribution pipelines and 6.8 percent of 895,000 miles of service lines.
Atmos Energy is a leader in pipeline modernization. Since 2007, it has invested about $5 billion dollars
to renew and expand its distribution and transmission systems and to improve customer service. About 70
percent of that capital spending has been dedicated to increasing safety and reliability.
AMERICA’S SAFEST GAS COMPANY
“Our goal is to be the safest natural gas distributor in the nation,” says Kim Cocklin, president and CEO of
Atmos Energy Corporation.
“Our goal is more than an aspirational ideal. It is a commitment we make to our customers, communities,
regulators and investors,” he says. “Every employee has taken a pledge to strive to be incident-free every day.”
To make a safe system even safer, Atmos Energy has fostered a “culture of safety” in the following ways:
> In 2010, Atmos Energy opened the Charles K. Vaughan Center, the
finest technical training facility in the natural gas distribution industry.
> The company’s training instructors are all seasoned experts with
many years of operating experience.
> Its service technicians and construction operators continually train
and recertify to meet federal Operator Qualification requirements.
> Its Coaching in the Moment safety program engages employees
to be accountable not only for their own safety, but also to protect
their fellow employees and others at a worksite.
> Its AtmoSpirit enculturation program for all employees stresses
safety as the highest priority.
ATMOS ENERGY: INVESTING FOR SAFETY