CenterPoint Energy 2004 Annual Report Download - page 18

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number of gas outages and the time customers were without
service. There were 1,271 customers affected by gas outages
in 2004, totaling 6,103 hours. This is an improvement over
2003 when 1,559 customers were without service for a
total of 6,460 hours.
In our southern states, we created a combined Gas Control
Group, which has the ability to track the status of the gas
system in “real time.” This allows us to make quicker and
more accurate decisions on how to respond to a cut line or
other problem on the system. It also helps reduce the time
necessary to restore the system and the number of people
who may be affected by an outage.
Continuing award-winning safety in our communities
In the communities we serve, we recognize that customers
count on us to provide safe and reliable energy delivery,
and we honor the trust they have in us. Ensuring that our
employees operate our systems safely is a key element
of our continuing commitment to both our employees
and our customers.
The overall safety record for our natural gas operations was
very good last year, showing significant improvement over
2003. The safety record of our southern gas operations was
exemplary, earning our company the American Gas
Association’s (AGA) top safety award for 2003. We improved
on the 2003 record during 2004, all but assuring a top ranking
in the next AGA ratings. Similarly, our Houston operations
received an AGA safety award last year for being a leader in
accident prevention in 2003. Our employees in Houston
worked 1 million hours without a lost time injury during a
one-year period that ended Aug. 27, 2004.
In Minnesota, we did not reach our safety goals for
preventable vehicle collisions, so we implemented several
measures to reduce vehicle accidents in the future. We have:
• Implemented a program to address distracted driving;
• Provided National Safety Council courses for
our drivers; and
• Changed our vehicle collision review process
to include review boards with front-line
employees, supervisors and managers from
multiple divisions.
Our Pipeline Services business achieved the best safety
performance in its history in 2004, reducing the
Angel Dominguez reads meters in Houston. Randy Draper, Gas Gathering Technician at the
Haughton, La., office, checks a storage tank.
COMMITTED TO CUSTOMERS