Protecting the public from dangerous contact with our electrical equipment is a difficult challenge. We have little control over individuals whose work or recreational activities bring them close to our facilities or those who choose to trespass.

In 2008, we launched a five-year Path to Excellence – patterned after our internal initiatives – to reduce public fatalities by 20 percent and electrical contacts by 10 percent annually. We improved our performance but we did not meet our goals. We had six public fatalities and 35 additional electrical contacts in 2011, compared with nine fatalities and 37 contacts in 2010.

Three of the six public fatalities and four electrical contacts in 2011 were the result of attempted copper theft, which continues to occur in parts of our service territory. The value of copper has increased nearly 50 percent during the past five years, making it an attractive target for thieves, despite life-threatening risks.

We have intensified our efforts to send safety-related messages and videos to the public, using social media such as Facebook and Twitter. We have also formed a partnership with the Independent Electrical Contractor Association (IEC), which has more than 60 chapters nationwide. The IEC posted a link to all of our public safety resources on its national website. Our state lobbyists continue to promote the issue, using legislative avenues to enact tougher penalties at the state level.

Nearly 1,000 public safety videos were ordered online from our operating company websites and more than 450 people completed the online public safety module in 2011.

Call Before you Dig! Don’t take any chances with your safety, call 811 and have the underground power lines located before digging.