Vectren 2011 Annual Report Download - page 6

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We expect ESG to continue this renewable
energy innovation and to capitalize on the
backlog of performance contracting work
that is under contract. We believe our energy
services sector remains primed for growth and
that our investments to ramp up operations in
performance contracting will materialize in the
coming years.
Focused on Safety
Our emphasis on safety for our colleagues and
our customers has not waivered. For our utility
business, 2011 proved to be the best year on
record for job safety. We ended the year with
only 11 DART cases (days away, restricted,
transferred), which measures workplace
injuries that force employee absences or work
restrictions. I’m extremely proud of how our
employees have embraced this culture of
safety in every facet of their work environment.
The work these employees do on a daily
basis translates to our focus on safety when it
comes to energy delivery. On the natural gas
side of the business, we are diligently working
on our gas modernization plan to ensure the
integrity of our underground infrastructure,
which spans 22,000 miles. We are on target
to hit deadlines on inspections associated with
transmission lines and have, when appropriate,
conducted inspections beyond federal
requirements. For our distribution system, we
are annually replacing nearly 100 miles of bare
steel cast iron (BSCI) gas lines with durable
plastic lines as we approach the fifth year of
our 20-year BSCI replacement program. These
initiatives have helped put us in a position to
comply with the new federal pipeline safety
legislation that was passed in early 2012. We
do, however, expect additional regulations
to come given the bill empowered the U.S.
Department of Transportation to conduct
additional studies, and if warranted, require
further regulations. As such, we’ll continue to
monitor this additional rule-making with a keen
focus on reliability, safety and compliance of
Focused on Safety
Vacuum excavation technology eliminates risks
of working inside an open excavation site
In the U.S., billions of dollars are spent annually on pipeline
rehabilitation. Conventional methods using pavement breakers,
backhoes and dump trucks create an open excavation site in order
to access the underground pipelines. By pairing vacuum excavation
services with keyhole technology, Miller Pipeline can seal pipeline
leaks through a hole no larger than 18 inches in diameter from the
ground above, eliminating risks associated with working inside an
open excavation site and reducing costs by more than 50%.
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