Eight work groups recognized by Southwest Electric Safety Exchange

Lockport, La. – With up to 34,500 volts of electricity moving across a typical power line, line workers at electrical utilities face one of the most challenging work environments in the world.

However, Entergy Louisiana, LLC and Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, L.L.C. fight those challenges by focusing on safety and several work groups in Louisiana have amassed remarkable safety records that were recently recognized by the Southwest Electric Safety Exchange.

In Southeast Louisiana, employees in the Lockport Network received recognition for working 25 years without a lost-time accident. The Southern Distribution Operations Center was honored for working 15 years without a lost-time accident.

Keith Ruddell, safety specialist for Entergy Louisiana, accepted the awards on behalf of the company at the recent SWESE semi-annual conference. Dennis Dawsey, vice president of Louisiana distribution operations, presented the awards to the respective managers around the state to share with their employees.

Louisiana distribution operations received an award for working from July 20, 2005 through March 18, 2009 without a lost-time accident – a span of 8.7 million man-hours. The time frame includes restoration work following the back-to-back strikes of hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 and Gustav and Ike last year.

The South Field Metering group was recognized for working 60 years without a lost-time accident. The Jonesboro work group has put together 30 years of safety while the Zachary work group has reached 15 years without a lost-time accident. The West Monroe work group and the West Construction work group were also recognized for 10 years of safe work.

Dawsey said these are phenomenal achievements for which employees deserve to be recognized. He emphasized that these milestones are a direct result of each individual putting safety at the forefront of every decision.

"Safety is about putting people first," Dawsey said. "These safety records are impressive and should be celebrated, but what they really mean is that these workgroups looked out for each other and themselves, and everyone went home safely.

"Not only should we work safely for the benefit of our customers," he added, "but family, friends and loved ones are counting on us to come home each day. Let’s remember those reasons before we begin working so we will be sure to stay accident free."

Founded in 1950, the Exchange began to reduce the accident rate among electric utility workers. The initial meeting included a group of dedicated utility safety representatives from southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas. Today, the Exchange represents 15 utility companies in seven states.

Entergy’s Louisiana utility companies serve more than one million customers through the operating companies Entergy Louisiana, LLC and Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, L.L.C. With operations in southern, central and northeastern Louisiana, the companies are part of Entergy Corporation’s electric system serving 2.7 million customers in Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi and Texas.

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