ComEd 2014 Annual Report Download - page 24

Exelon 2014 Summary Annual Report
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Our Companies — PECO
In 2014 PECO retained its top-decile safety performance record
with a steadfast commitment to safety from every employee.
This resulted in PECO’s best-ever OSHA recordable rate of 0.54.
2014 was the third year in a row that PECO established a new
record for its safety performance, thanks in part to delivering a
perfect safety record in August – a company first. The company
was again recognized by the American Gas Association with the
Safety Achievement Award for experiencing the lowest DART
rate (a measurement of recordable injuries and illnesses per
100 employees that result in days away from work or restricted
activity) among large electric and natural gas utilities in 2013 –
at 0.45, one of the lowest in the industry.
PECO’s continued investment in its electric system resulted in
strong reliability performance, with one of the lowest number of
outages in its history – just 0.77 outages per customer despite
record-breaking severe weather that struck the Philadelphia area
in the first half of 2014. The number of customer outages from
July through December, excluding major storms, was just 0.36
per customer – the second lowest for the same period in company
history. PECO’s average outage duration of 90 minutes was four
minutes better than 2013 and the best since 2010.
In response to the second-most damaging storm in company
history in February, PECO hosted a series of customer open
houses across the service territory. This innovative public outreach
approach was well-received by customers, declared a best practice
by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and recommended
for all Pennsylvania electric distribution companies.
PECO also continued to expand its natural gas system, helping
more customers take advantage of this economical, domestic
and environmentally friendly resource. In 2014 PECO also
surpassed the 500,000 gas customer mark and achieved a gas
odor response rate of 99.97, a near-perfect rate that reflects
PECO’s constant focus on customer safety.
In 2012, PECO began replacing its current electric meters with
newer metering technology and in early 2014 installed its one
millionth AMI electric meter; as of year-end 2014, just 300,000
of the 1.8 million new meters remain to be installed in 2015.
Benefits of the new metering technology include completing
more than 550,000 remote service connections or disconnections,
resulting in faster service for our customers and more than
100,000 avoided truck rolls. The enhanced outage information
provided by the new meters helped the company restore
service to customers approximately two to three days faster
during the February ice storm. Also in 2014, PECO achieved a
major milestone of helping customers save more than $350
million through the PECO Smart Ideas energy eciency program.
PECO is the first utility in the United States to deploy new
Terex XT55 hybrid bucket trucks, which reduce emissions and
increase fuel eciency. The vehicles feature the Odyne plug-in
hybrid power system, which allows users to operate auxiliary
equipment at a work site without the truck’s engine power,
reducing operating and maintenance costs.
As a result of its continued focus on safety and reliability, PECO
again achieved first quartile performance in the JD Power
Residential Customer Satisfaction Survey, ranking third overall
out of 17 utilities in the East Regional Large Utility segment.
PECO’s 2014 score of 648 is the highest the company has
achieved since 2008, representing a 17-point improvement over
2013, well above the average for large utilities in the east region.
PECO’s continued investment in its electric system
resulted in strong reliability performance, with one of
the lowest number of outages in its history.