NV Energy’s Fort Churchill Generating Station achieves safety streak record

The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) recently presented NV Energy with a “Safety Achievement Award” for operating its Fort Churchill Generating Station in Yerington, Nevada more than two million safe work-hours with no lost-time incidents.

The 226-megawatt natural gas-fueled power plant has been operating for 30 years without a lost-time accident, the longest safety record of any fossil-fueled generating station in the nation.

“Our company’s most important core value is to create a safe environment, on a daily basis, for customers, the general public and for fellow employees,” NV Energy President and CEO Paul Caudill said.

The plant employs approximately 25 people and can produce enough electricity to serve approximately 135,000 Nevada households. Fort Churchill Station employees have over the years made nearly 2,000 safety suggestions, which have come about through safety audits, safety committee recommendations, individual contributions as well as “good catch” or “near miss” reporting.

“We continue to emphasize the safety risks of being in a hurry, taking chances, being distracted, and failing to look for hazards. I am so proud of our employees at Fort Churchill who exemplify safety awareness and watching out for each other,” Generation Executive Dariusz Rekowski said.

The first generating unit at the power plant entered service in 1968, and the last lost-time accident occurred on March 30, 1987.